Closer with Art: Supporting Social and Emotional Wellbeing through Art Museum Education

Abstract

Wellbeing has, in recent years, become an increasingly emphasised priority for art museums in Estonia. In this article, I introduce art museum practices that are aimed at supporting social and emotional wellbeing, with a particular focus on lessons for general education school groups conducted between 2021 and 2025. Drawing on relevant examples, I argue that when art institutions prioritise wellbeing, they also strengthen people’s connections to art.

The article brings forth key developments and approaches in art institutions. The primary research questions are: what developments characterise art museum education related to fostering social and emotional wellbeing in Estonia, and how has art mediation been used in practice to support it? The discussion includes the benefits, challenges and future potential of such work.

The central case study is the Close-up and Closer with Art lesson for 1st to 4th grade students, run at the Tartu Art Museum and the Rüki Gallery in Viljandi. Related examples from the Kumu Art Museum and other venues are also introduced. These cases reveal characteristic developments, including a stronger emphasis on social values, improved access to art, cross-disciplinary partnerships, co-creation of learning materials with teachers, and investment in sustainable formats. While focusing on wellbeing has increased first-time visits by children to art venues, it also underscores the responsibility to ensure that the children have positive experiences in order to encourage repeat visits.

Educators have linked art mediation with the promotion of social and emotional wellbeing through a range of approaches, including the integration of self-led elements, the encouragement of self-expression and the use of new tools for interpreting artworks through emotion. Notably, giving teachers an active role in lessons is emerging as a valuable approach, enabling them to gain deeper insight into their students and to diversify their own teaching practices. These examples support social and emotional wellbeing and learning by fostering self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship skills.

In the future, there is potential to share such educational practices more strategically within and across art institutions, as well as to establish more efficient means for collecting and utilising student feedback. Cross-disciplinary partnerships can continue to support new outreach initiatives, while long-term collaboration can further integrate museum education into general education.