In recent years, a host of research has demonstrated that art can have real medical value, and is accessible and free of side effects to boot.

In 2021, a team from the University of Pennsylvania, led by Katherine Cotter and James Pawelski, analysed nearly 100 studies on the effects of art on health.

Their conclusion is unequivocal: visiting museums reduces stress and anxiety, stimulates feel-good hormones such as serotonin, and encourages introspection.

Published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, their analysis also highlights the positive impact on social cohesion, with museum-goers feeling less alone and more connected to others.

Museums: havens of well-being

And the evidence isn’t limited to scientific publications. In Italy, several museums have conducted experiments that show how much good these places of art can do.

The calm, accessibility and beauty that reign there create an environment conducive to well-being. The project of the Italian National Committee of ICOM (International Council of Museums) perfectly illustrates this.

Museums can become true healing spaces, combining culture, art and humanity to improve the mental health of vulnerable people.

And you don’t even have to be physically close to a museum to reap the benefits.

A study coming out of Canada, published in 2022 in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, showed that weekly virtual tours, organised via Zoom for 106 elderly people, led to a clear improvement in their general well-being.

After three months, the participants reported feeling less lonely, more curious and more fulfilled. Proof that remote access to culture can also promote public health.

Beyond simple exposure to works of art, a unique practice has emerged and is attracting growing interest in medical and social circles: art therapy.

Combining artistic creation and psychological support, this approach mobilises creative processes as means of expression, communication and transformation of emotions.

Appearing in several English-speaking countries in the 1930s, it gradually spread to other countries after World War II.

Today, it is fully integrated into many care pathways in various places, particularly in psychiatry, geriatrics, and in the support of people with disabilities or patients facing great psychological distress.

Chinese researchers have measured the effects of such therapies. In a study published in 2021 in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, they explain that art therapy can help relieve disorders such as depression and anxiety.

By allowing people to express their emotions in ways other than words, this approach boosts self-esteem and self-awareness.

However, researchers emphasise the need for further clinical studies in order to better understand how art affects the brain (areas used, emotions triggered, etc.) and thus improve art therapy practices.

When art heals like medicine

In fact, the benefits of art are such that they are increasingly playing a role in treatment protocols.

In Belgium, the Brugmann Hospital in Brussels launched a pilot project in 2022 allowing psychiatrists to prescribe museum visits for patients suffering from mental health issues such as depression or anxiety.

This scheme is directly inspired by an initiative that began in 2018 in Canada, where French-speaking doctors allowed their patients to visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts free of charge.

Since then, the idea has spread to Switzerland and then to France. And the results are clear: a reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms, improved mood and stronger social bonds.

But art, in addition to doing good, also has a cost… or rather a value.

In 2023, the Institute for Learning Innovation conducted a study of more than 5,400 visitors to American museums.

By quantifying the perceived benefits in terms of well-being, the researchers estimated that a single visit could be equivalent to a saving of US$904.95 on spending on mental and physical health.

In other words, each visit to a museum represents a considerable gain in well-being for the individual.

In relation to total annual attendance, this figure highlights the essential role of cultural institutions in what sociologists refer to as the “economy of well-being.”

According to the authors of the study, “the average ratio of benefits created relative to the costs of creating that value was equal to 1,171%, or roughly US$12 of benefit achieved for every US$1 spent.”

Enough to encourage decision-makers to consider culture — and more specifically art — no longer as an expense, but as a sustainable investment in the service of public health.

The message is clear: art is not a luxury. It heals, connects and elevates. It should not remain the preserve of an elite or of privileged leisure time, but become a pillar of health, community inclusiveness and education policies.

In the face of the psychosocial challenges today, focusing on culture means building a more humane, more resilient and more united society. A society where beauty, emotion and creativity are at the heart of our collective equilibrium.