Co-editing of a book on museotherapy: “Le musée qui soigne: From Care to Cure – Museum Therapy”

“Le musée qui soigne: From Care to Cure – Museum Therapy” is a major editorial project co-directed by Dr. Olivier Beauchet (Université de Montréal) and Nathalie Bondil (Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris). For the first time, a French-language interdisciplinary volume — with international reach — explores in depth the connections between museums, visual arts, and health.

At a time when issues of mental health and social cohesion are intensifying, museums are reinventing their role. No longer solely spaces for contemplation, they are increasingly becoming places of well-being, support, and care. This shift aligns with major global trends:
– In 2019, the OECD and ICOM recognized museums as sites of individual and collective care.
– WHO Europe (2019) confirmed through scientific evidence the positive impact of the arts on mental and physical health.
– The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated cultural innovation aimed at fostering well-being.

The volume demonstrates how the arts can be rigorously and evidence-based integrated into health-related practices. It is intended for professionals in culture and health, as well as for users, policymakers, artists, educators, and researchers. Museum therapy is presented as a deeply humanistic approach: inclusive, participatory, and rooted in medical humanities and integrative medicine.

Across roughly twenty theoretical chapters and fifty practical action sheets, the book presents:
– the mechanisms through which the arts support well-being;
– innovative, replicable museum-based interventions;
– concrete bridges between cultural institutions, healthcare sectors, and communities.

Bringing together international experts, “Le musée qui soigne: From Care to Cure – Museum Therapy” offers a renewed vision of the museum: an essential public-health actor capable of enhancing quality of life, resilience, and social connection.

Publication is planned for 2026.