Discussion round “Museum on prescription” open art museum

Julie Courcier Delafontaine and Marianne de Reynier Nevsky from Neuchâtel discuss the experiences and opportunities of “Museum on Prescription” with St.Gallen city councillor Sonja Lüthi

City Councillor Julie Courcier Delafontaine and Marianne de Reynier Nevsky, Director of the Atelier des Musées, have initiated the “Museum on Prescription” project in Neuchâtel. The project is a response to the latest findings of a study that shows a lasting positive effect and sense of well-being simply by looking at art.

Concepts of health and illness are subject to social change, scientific findings, a political agreement on norms and deviations as well as our understanding of life concepts, which are currently once again the subject of intense debate. The supporting program for the exhibition “A dream of a ball gown” is therefore not geared towards a deficient understanding of illness; the focus is on mental health. The aim is also to open up new perspectives on healing art and creative ways of promoting mental health. Psychiatrists at the end of the 19th/beginning of the 20th century were already aware of the positive effect of artistic creation on mental health long before art therapy was offered.