Our world is home to countless cultures representing the ideas, customs, and social behaviours of different populations. Along with language, religion, literature, poetry, philosophy, architecture and music, cultures can also differ from one another through their interpretations and expressions of art. In addition to differences in the expressed art, and the way of expressing it, the spaces used for artistic expression may vary from one culture to another......

Do you love visiting museums? I really do! I believe they are the perfect place to endure cold, dark and long winter days. You can tour around the galleries for hours, make some sketches and potentially even touch some historical objects. Furthermore, museums can widen your horizons as you can learn so many things. However, as a psychology geek and a young adult, museums interest me from another perspective. I am curious about the potential of museums in improving young people’s mental health and wellbeing...

In a small city surrounded by the Japanese Alps lies the Matsumoto Art Museum. What many visitors perceive as a beautiful surrounding landscape was a cage to the artist featured in the museum. Kusama was born in Matsumoto, in 1929 and only dreamed of crossing the mountains to escape her hometown. While growing up, she was physically and emotionally abused by her mother and consequently suffered from hallucinations...

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3 August 2023 

Boots are out, flip-flops are in! The long-awaited summer is finally here! It is the perfect time to take a break from your studies, relax a little bit and recharge for the next year. Arts can be a great way to achieve that. The benefits of arts on mental health and wellbeing have been shown consistently (All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing Inquiry, 2017; Daykin, 2019; Fancourt & Finn, 2019)...

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07 July 2023 

Universities exist to foster the cognitive development of their students. They consequently seek to reduce students’ stress levels which are known to impact their intellectual performance. Paintings in lecture halls and sculptures in libraries are indeed much more than an asthetic or entertaining addition to university buildings’ outfits. There is increasing evidence that art, just like nature, can help reduce stress and foster cognitive restauration. There are hence good reasons to go creative and introduce more art into universities... 

26 MAY 2023

Louise Bourgeois has long been associated with psychoanalytic themes, weaving between sexuality, death, memory, and reparation throughout her extensive career. Initially assisting her parents in the family business of restoring tapestries and creating drawings for templates used in the workshop,... 

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6 April 2022

With the COVID-19 pandemic came the phenomenal increase in technology usage across the world, from online video calls to innovative apps. What became particularly apparent was the potential of technology to reach and connect a great number of people – globally.... 

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18 Feb 2022

It is a worldwide tradition to make resolutions for the New Year. However, as the saying goes, it is easier said than done. So, how many of them do we actually keep?... 

18 Jan 2022

As we witness a rise in mental health challenges pervasive in society, finding ways of not only coping, but of alleviating such crises is integral. Perhaps art has more relevance to this conversation than we might first expect, as it could enact similar therapeutic outcomes to that of playing.

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22 Dec 2021

As the amount of time that people spend indoors is now roughly 90% of their day, considering the impact of architectural design on mental health has never been more relevant (Megahed and Ghoneim, 2021). A developing field, “neuro-architecture”, combines neuroscience and architecture to understand the neural correlates of sensory processes such as visual and spatial perception... 

Facing job losses, reduced income (McKibbin & Fernando, 2020) and social isolation due to physical distancing measures (Saladino, Algeri, & Auriemma, 2020), many people have experienced high levels of distress and anxiety, together with feelings of helplessness and dispiritedness (Montemurro, 2020). However, there are still people who have remained optimistic during this crisis. What makes them different? And what can we do to be like them?

Whilst we may all be familiar with Descartes’ notion that ‘I think, therefore I am’, Kierkegaard instead opted for an alternative mantra - ‘I exist, therefore I think’... 

'Neuroaesthetics is an emerging interdisciplinary field combining neuroscience, psychology and the arts to understand the neural correlates of aesthetic experiences such as art and beauty (Pearce et al., 2016). Neuroaesthetics was first coined by Semir Zeki, a professor of neuroscience at University College London...'

'You might be wondering, what is play therapy? Well, let's start with play itself. The act of playing is inherent to children and essential for their development. Play aids children to regulate their emotional responses to disturbances and reduces stress levels...'

'As time went by, museums have expanded their services in many different ways. Once exclusively used as places to exhibit art pieces, at the moment museums operate as workshop areas, party venues or theatre stages...'

'When was the last time you finished watching a movie in a different mood to when you started it? Isn't it puzzling that something so removed from one’s life can have such a profound impact on one’s emotional state...'

'Whilst the coronavirus pandemic has caused museums to close and concerts to be canceled, many individuals have turned to art, emphatically showing “its power to unite and connect in times of crisis” (United Nations, 2020)...'

'The modern estimates of the total number of casualties of the First World War (defined as the deaths and injuries of both the civilian populations and soldiers) hover around forty million...'

'The advancement of family therapy theories in the past few decades inspired practitioners in developing family art therapy (Riley & Malchiodi, 1994)...'

What are creative therapies? Are they the same as art therapy? Read this article to find out the answer.

'Mathematics is basically everywhere. “Math is scary.” “Math is complicated.” “Why do we need to do this?” “I was never good at math.” We hear these quite often, in or out of our classrooms...'

'The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic can be stressful for people across the world. According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “fear and anxiety about a new disease...'

Music Therapy is a type of creative therapies. Read this article to learn more about its history and process briefly. 

Drama Therapy is a type of creative therapies. Is dramatherapy the same as psychdrama? Click and read to find out the answer.

Dance Therapy is also a type of creative therapies. Read this article to learn more about its history and practices. 

'Sarah Hart Landolt is an innovative artist known for her unique, interactive approach to art. Specialising in acrylic on canvas, she incorporates community feedback into her creative process using quantitative data from social media...'

'In today’s fast-paced, digital world, many individuals are seeking ways to reconnect with themselves, their communities, and the physical world around them. Craft-based textile activities, such as knitting, weaving, crocheting, tatting, and lace-making, are experiencing a resurgence as meaningful hobbies...'