A closer look at why engaging with art can reshape your perspective, deepen empathy, and inspire personal growth.
You know that feeling walking out of the movie theatre or finishing a great book, like you’ve suddenly awakened to the potential of life and your ability to move through it? Perhaps you feel as though you’ll never be the same again or that you’re now looking at the world through different eyes. This is the power of a Transformative Experience.
You aren’t alone in experiencing these grandiose feelings, and modern research suggests that aesthetic experiences, including museums, are some of the most powerful catalysts of Transformative Experiences—any experiences in which an adjustment is made in an individual’s worldview, understanding of themselves, their identity, or actions, often leading to personal growth and a reassessment of values.
A museum is an ideal place for this: a collection of beautifully aesthetic works all around you, with no shortage of material to choose from.
That being said, you are not guaranteed a Transformative Experience by simply walking through a museum or picking up a novel. Like anything good in life, it requires something of you—effort.
You must engage with art in a way that “reconfigures [your] perception of reality,” says a group of researchers in Milan, “In this engagement, individuals are not passive recipients but active participants in the creation of meaning.” Your unique response to art is its own art form!
Of course, there is no right or wrong way to respond to art—by all means, stop reading here if you think you’ve mastered the art of a museum walk. But if you’re curious how to cultivate a Transformative Experience in your next museum visit, here are some science-supported tips:
15 Minute Rule
Choose one work of art and spend 15 minutes with it. First observe what you are physically seeing—colors, textures, shapes. Then ask yourself what emotions it evokes. Does it bring up any memories? Can you connect it to other experiences or knowledge? Maybe it reminds you of another painting.
There are no hard and fast rules here, the goal is simply to spend an extended time with one work of art and let your brain absorb all the information it can.
The Daydreaming Brain
If you’ve ever lost your train of thought while in a museum, then you’re doing it right! Deep aesthetic immersion is usually required for a Transformative Experience to take place, the kind of thinking the brain does in a daydreaming-like space. Allowing yourself to slip into a daydreaming state is exactly where your brain needs to be to self-reflect and creatively connect the art with your memories.
Engaging this part of your brain can come as you practice the 15 Minute Rule or as you wander through an exhibition, taking in the space as a whole.
Soft Fascination
Another term to describe the mental space museums create comes from research about art as therapy. The environment of a museum is different enough from your day to day routine yet still familiar enough to put you into a state of soft fascination, meaning your attention is held in a space that allows for creative, self-reflective thought.
So don’t worry if you aren’t absolutely riveted by a work of art in a museum. Don’t try to track your thought process as you wander or wonder if you’re doing it right. Similar to the daydreaming state, this state of soft fascination should be comfortable. Take it at your own pace, engage with what art you can and let your thoughts be your guide.
Remember, there is not a right or wrong way to respond to art
All that matters is that you engage!
Studies prove that active and frequent engagement with the arts leads to increased empathy for other cultures and different world views. How cool is that? You can increase your understanding of the world without the cost of a plane ticket. Not to mention, there are dozens of health benefits to this process: lower cortisol levels, a younger biological age, and an increase in dopamine, to name a few.
So, the next time you’re feeling stuck in a rut, or you need some inspiration, go to a museum! Engage that daydreaming brain, take some time to sit with your thoughts. But be careful—you may just leave a different person.
