Brenau University announced it will partner with the High Museum of Art in Atlanta for a two-year study.
The study is funded by an $80,000 research grant the High Museum recently received from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The research will focus on the impact of art museums and the well-being of diverse adult populations.
Chair of Brenau’s Music Department Barbara Steinhaus said art can decrease feelings of isolation.
“In 2019, the World Health Organization published a report on arts and health, and one of the things they found was that people who visited an art museum, went to a concert, or participated in an artistic activity had a 17% decrease in feelings of isolation,” Steinhaus said.
Steinhaus, who has a Doctor of Musical Arts, will work alongside the Director of Brenau’s Center for the Arts and Design Department Claudia Wilburn.
Additionally, the High Museum of Art’s Associate Director of Institutional Research Julia Forbes and Dr. Andrew Westover, the Eleanor M. Storza deputy director of learning and civic engagement, will also be co-principal investigators.
The study will begin this year and will examine “the social, emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual effects of art museum visitation on diverse adult populations.”
The study will conclude in 2027.
Fine arts students from Brenau will take part in the study, collecting data by assisting participants and explaining the program.
“The High serves as a haven for connection and engagement, which is more important now than ever as we face the growing national crises of loneliness and social isolation,” High Museum Director Rand Suffolk said. “We’re so grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for their support of our research, which will quantify how art museums can change their communities, and individuals’ lives, in incredible ways.”
http://accesswdun.com/article/2025/2/1284163/brenau-university-high-museum-of-art-announces-two-year-study-partnership