About MiM

Mindfulness in Museums (MiM) is an international expertise platform where art, mindfulness, and mental health come together.

With roots in the Netherlands and a growing international network, MiM connects museums, mindfulness professionals, and researchers across borders. The work contributes to the expanding international fields of Arts & Health and Culture & Care, which explore how cultural institutions can support mental health, reflection, and social connection.

Mindfulness in Museums (MiM) was founded by Jolien Posthumus — mindfulness teacher trainer, supervisor, and pioneer at the intersection of art and mental health. With a background in applied arts and professional experience in mental healthcare, her work connects the sensory power of art with research-based mindfulness and contemplative approaches.

Our work is research-based and rooted in both ancient contemplative traditions and modern science, including psychology, neuroscience and research on the positive impact of art on mental health.

Our Work

Museums, Health & Wellbeing

We collaborate with museums to develop programmes in which art becomes an pathway to presence, emotional regulation and care — strengthening museums as public spaces that support wellbeing and resilience.

Mindfulness Professionals

MiM offers specialised training, supervision and mentoring for qualified mindfulness teachers who wish to integrate art into their practice or work within museum contexts.

Art, Culture, Health & Care

MiM contributes to the growing fields of Art & Health, Culture & Health, and Culture & Care, exploring how art experiences in museums can support mental health, resilience, wellbeing, and human flourishing within healthcare and community contexts.

Mission

Mindfulness in Museums connects art, attention, and mental health.

We develop research-informed programmes in which museum collections become anchors for presence, emotional regulation, and social connection.

In this way, museums become places where visitors not only experience art, but also cultivate skills that support wellbeing, reflection, and resilience — both inside and beyond the museum walls.

Each session creates space for meaning, reflection, and shared humanity at the heart of the public realm.

Vision

Mindfulness in Museums works toward a future in which museums actively contribute to mental health, meaning-making, and community resilience.

Not as an additional activity, but as an integral part of their cultural role in society.

We collaborate with museums, mindfulness teachers, researchers, and healthcare professionals to develop a sustainable field of practice where art and mindfulness meet in the public domain.

Because mental health deserves a place in the public sphere — not as an exception, but as a shared responsibility.

International Leadership & Network

Mindfulness in Museums is developing a global network of trained professionals and national chapters, giving museums worldwide access to expertise at the intersection of art, mindfulness, and mental health. With roots in the Netherlands and collaborations across Europe and beyond, MiM is growing into an international hub for practice, training, and knowledge exchange.

Within the emerging international fields of Art & Health and Culture & Care, MiM provides leadership by developing programmes, training professionals, and connecting museums with expertise in contemplative practice and mental health. Through a growing community, MiM supports museums around the world in exploring how art can foster presence, emotional resilience, and shared humanity.