10/10/2026
WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY – ART CAN BE PART OF HEALING
Did you know that museums around the world are becoming part of the conversation about mental health and well-being?
Recent publications are highlighting an exciting shift:
🖼️ “Museum wellbeing just moved from pilot to policy.”
🖼️ “In 2026, museums started being treated as part of public health.”
From Museums on Prescription programs in London and Kent to doctors prescribing gallery visits in Montreal, museums are increasingly being recognized as places that can support emotional well-being.
And it's happening far beyond Europe! Shanghai has launched China's first Museum Healing Alliance, connecting museums, hospitals, and universities.
And here in Shawnee, Oklahoma, we're taking our own baby steps.
At the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art, our ongoing MuseumRX program encourages museum visits as part of the healing journey. We work with organizations supporting individuals facing addiction, mental health challenges, abuse, trauma, and everyday stress.
We believe art can offer a moment of peace, reflection, connection, or simply a break from life's challenges.
And here's something we want everyone to remember:
You don't have to understand art.
You don't have to know anything about art.
You don't even have to LIKE art.
Art doesn't have to make sense to you. It just has to make you FEEL something.
Maybe it's happiness. Maybe sadness. Maybe curiosity, comfort, or even frustration. Sometimes a single painting can bring back a memory, start a conversation, or help us understand an emotion we couldn't put into words.
That's the power of art. And that's why we believe museums belong to everyone. ❤️
On this World Mental Health Day, we want to remind our community that our museum is more than a place to look at beautiful objects. It can also be a place to pause, breathe, reflect, and reconnect.
If you know an organization, support group, treatment center, or community program that could benefit from MuseumRX, please let them know we're here. We'd love to connect and explore how we can help.
Because sometimes healing can begin in unexpected places. Even in front of a painting.
