Spending time in a museum, contemplating works and dawdling between galleries laden with creations and installations would not be harmful to health.
This practice, which concerns almost a quarter of Americans each year, would even be beneficial.
This is the result of an American summary study published in the scientific journal
The Journal of Positive Psychology
.
Signed by two researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, the publication would correlate an improvement in the quality of life with the fact of regularly visiting a museum or a gallery.
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“Art museums allow the public to feel more connected with others. People then feel less alone, and this produces a surplus of positive mood
, “said in a press release one of the two authors of the study, researcher Katherine N. Cotter.
According to his work, frequenting a place dedicated to art, such as a museum or a gallery, would contribute to cultivating the fulfillment of an individual by improving his physical and mental well-being, by allowing for example to fight against stress and depression.
Develop a relationship with a work
According to the researchers, better understanding the different effects that museums have on their public should enable the institutions concerned to better adapt their cultural mediation programs or their visitor routes.
One conceivable application could be to encourage extended one-on-one time with the works.
“Instead of just glancing, my students were able to take a step back and develop a real relationship with a particular work of art
,” said James O. Pawelski.
They explained to me that their experience of the museum was completely different
.
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In the case of people with dementia, the study notes that a 2019 experiment had demonstrated the positive physiological effects of a frequency of two museum outings and two plastic art sessions per week.
These positive reactions were observed after six weeks of such a psychotherapeutic program.
The reduction in the level of stress has also been demonstrated by regular attendance at art venues, whereas irregular visits to museums are not enough to produce observable effects.
The study by Katherine N. Cotter and James O. Pawelski is part of the positive psychology movement, which has a research center associated with the University of Pennsylvania.
“We intend to examine how interactions with the arts and culture can support us, develop our resilience and help us re-establish social ties,”
emphasizes James O. Pawelski.
Whether the public is good for the preservation of museum collections is another question.