Goosebumps, Galleries, and Growing Together: Museums and Our Wellbeing

A chilly Bangalore morning, the denim jacket barely helping me fight off the cold, and a whole lot of goosebumps at the Indian Music Museum. The last one year at ARISA has helped me understand more about the why behind those goosebumps, and the other quiet, wonderful things art does to your brain, your health, and your sense of wellbeing. 

Somewhere along the way, I also found out that my birthday falls on International Museum Day. That made last year’s celebration at Zapurza Museum even more special. We wandered through galleries, watched dance performances, block-printed tote bags, and got drenched in the monsoon drizzle by the Khadakwasla backwaters. I was with some of my closest friends—most of them not your typical museum-goers. But everyone left with something. Someone got lost in the vibe, someone else folded paper cranes at the origami station, and another quietly teared up during a performance. It made me wonder if museums actually have something for everyone? 

As we celebrate International Museum Day this May, reflecting on the evolving role of museums in a changing world, I’d like to pause and look at something quite timeless: what museums do for our individual and collective wellbeing. 

Brain in the Museum 

Neuroscience tells us that slow art viewing, just spending a few mindful moments with an artwork, can activate regions of the brain linked to pleasure, memory, and empathy. It explains why I felt an unexpected rush of emotion watching old film clips at the Cinema Museum in Mumbai. With the songs, the sounds, and the interactions I was transported to my grandparents’ living room, watching black-and-white movies on Sunday afternoons. 

Art, colour, sound, and space interact deeply with our nervous system. Whether we realise it or not, our brains are responding. A certain brushstroke, a nostalgic melody, even the lighting in a gallery, all of it matters. 

Museums and Mental Wellbeing 

Recent studies suggest that visiting museums can reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety. Studies have shown that exposure to art and cultural artifacts can lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, leading to improved mood and overall well being (Kaimal et al., 2016; Law et al., 2021). 

I’ve seen this firsthand. Zapurza’s hands-on spaces, where you can make art, not just view it, do something gentle but powerful to the body. There’s something about losing yourself in a printmaking activity or folding origami in silence that slows you down. 

Community, Curation, and Belonging 

Museums are also social spaces, even if they don’t seem like it at first glance. As Nina Simone puts it, museums can be places of belonging. Collective experiences such as guided walks make museum visits a shared experience, connecting visitors to like-minded individuals.  

At ARISA, we witnessed this during our Neuroart Walk at the Empowerment Exhibition hosted by Goethe-Institut Pune. People slowed down, engaged with the art, and with each other. Workshops, guided tours, open mics, kids’ corners are the future of museums as social infrastructure. 

Looking Ahead 

This past year of working on art-based research projects and museum collaborations has left me with a hopeful question: What if we truly embraced museums as tools for wellbeing?  

So maybe the goosebumps I felt that morning weren’t just a response to cold weather or nostalgia. Maybe they were a quiet nudge from the brain saying there’s a lot more there to be explored.