Well-being in museums: doors open to teenagers – Milan – Arte.it

Milan – Canada has been at the forefront of the use of art as therapy for years and is second to none. To alleviate the suffering caused by certain pathologies, especially those related to anxiety and stress, Canadian doctors go so far as to prescribe a visit to the museum to their patients. More science fiction for Italy. However, in our country from 2022 the ASBA project (Anxiety, Stress, Brain-Friendly Museum Approach), founded by researcher Annalisa Banzi and promoted by the University of Milan-Bicocca in collaboration with the State Universitycontinues its research journey in the field of cultural well-being and announces a new phase of intervention focused on the well-being of adolescents.

In the three years that ASBA was active, more than 400 participants and several important museum institutions were involved Milan (GAM and Natural History Museum) and Tue Turin (MAO, Palazzo Madama, GAM Turin). Second Paola Zatti, curator responsible for the Gallery in via Palestro, a widespread public demand for services focused on psychophysical well-being in cultural places is becoming increasingly apparent, a request to which some museums – and ICOM (International Council of Museums) in the first place – are gradually equipping themselves to respond.

However, we are still at the beginning of a scientific literature that, with certain data in hand, can show that a visit to a cultural site can be a real remedy, with a measurable reduction in stress and anxiety. On this front, the two Milanese universities are collaborating to collect data according to a rigorous methodology, aimed at defining research methodologies that are shared at the international level.

“The combination of culture and health,” he says Domenico Piraina, Director of the Culture Department of the Municipality of Milan“will ultimately change the way we manage, promote and operate museums.” Moreover, it is not excluded that the experimental laboratory, which today includes two very different Milanese museums – the Gallery of Modern Art and the Museum of Natural History – could expand in the future to include other public museums in the city.

After a first phase dedicated to studying the impact of museotherapy on adult citizens (18-82 years old), carried out between 2022 and 2023, and a second phase aimed at museum staff in 2024, the ASBA initiative now focuses on young people under 18 years old, with the aim of providing concrete answers to contemporary problems such as anxiety, stress and social isolation. According to recently published research and data, the youth target is particularly sensitive and has suffered significantly from the COVID-19 pandemic, with consequences that continue to be felt today.

49.4% of young Italians aged 18 to 25 said they had suffered from anxiety and depression in the years following the health crisis (Censis, National Youth Agency and National Youth Council2022). According to the OECD report, more than 700,000 young Italians under the age of 25 live with mental health problems, with anxiety and depression among the most common conditions Promoting good mental health in children and young adults (2024). Factors such as social isolation and the loss of authentic relationships, prolonged use of the telephone and social networks, global crises, job insecurity combined with economic uncertainty, school pressure and excessive competitiveness contribute to fueling a widespread climate of stress. Culture and creativity can provide an antidote to this malaise, but ASBA’s goal is to scientifically measure the actual benefit of therapies.

“The third phase of the experiments, conducted by ASBA, will involve groups of young people between 14 and 17 years old in courses led by certified researchers and therapists,” says Annalisa Banzi. According to the pediatrician, adolescents are a particularly flexible target Antonella Mezzopanepresent neural plasticity and synaptic connections capable of remodeling nervous tissue with a flexibility comparable to that of children in the first three years of life. In an ‘artistic’ brain, creativity stimulates an increase in neural connections, which proves especially useful in dealing with complex and complex problems and promoting the adolescent’s personal growth. Young people’s interaction with art created by artists has also been shown to help boost self-confidence and self-esteem.

The planned activities will use methods such as: MindfulnessI’Art therapy and the method Nature+Artstructured to encourage deep immersion and the reduction of anxiety and stress through direct contact with cultural heritage. Each meeting will be divided into four moments: an information phase, a practical experience with the museum’s objects, an explanation and a final debate aimed at stimulating encounters between people and cultures. To ensure the scientific soundness of the results, participants’ anxiety and stress levels will be monitored at the beginning and end of each session using standardized tests and special devices such as the BCI (brain-computer interface), a completely harmless wireless instrument capable of measuring brain activity during activities.

The psychologist Claudio Lucchiari from the State University of Milan describes in detail the different experiences open to the public. The Visual thinking strategiesfor example, offer an intense mix of emotions and cognitive processes, encouraging the visitor to think about the works of art and about themselves in an original way, developing curiosity and self-awareness. KunstUp it is instead an experience of deep integration, in which art becomes a vehicle for relationships between people, a journey between differences coming together. The Guided tours they encourage knowledge sharing, ease the emotional burden, and allow the mind to shift its focus.

While we wait for the start of the third phase of the ASBA project, the hypothesis is gaining ground that in the near future a real museum center dedicated to well-being could emerge around the two Milanese museums that were pioneers of the initiative.