“Museotherapy”: A New Concept for Promoting Health, Well-Being, and Therapy through Art

Abstract

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) has been active in partnership with community for more than twenty years. During the last decade, the MMFA has pioneered numerous pilot programs with medical health providers. This chapter presents an emerging concept of “Museotherapy” (Nauleau, 2018; Bondil, 2021) that contextualizes a diversity of therapeutically intentioned practices in a museum. Conceived along a continuum of engagement, “museotherapy” seeks to address the wellness of the individual, the group, and the community. This concept was accepted in 2020 by the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF): Museotherapy is, following its Grand dictionnaire terminologique, “une méthode thérapeutique individuelle ou collective qui consiste en l’exploitation de l’environnement muséal à des fins de bien-être physique, psychologique et social. Plus concrètement, il peut s’agir de la contemplation d’œuvres d’art, de la création artistique en atelier ou de visite guidées en compagnie de médiateurs culturels.” An English translation of the definition would read, “Museotherapy: The exploitation of the museum environment as a therapeutic method for an individual or group for the purposes of physical, psychological, and social well-being. More concretely, it may involve the contemplation of works of art, artistic creation in a studio, or guided tours in the company of cultural mediators.” This vision redefines the role of an art museum, especially within society. “Museotherapy” requires reframing the role of the museum beyond the activities of art history, conservation, and supporting artists, and rethinking its public as Homo aestheticus, as experiential beings who are nourished by beauty and social connection.