Mesdag Collection — Netherlands

In a restless world that rarely pauses, museums offer space to stand still — with art and with yourself.

At the Mesdag Collection in The Hague, Mindfulness in Museums (MiM) developed guided mindfulness experiences that invite visitors to encounter artworks with presence and curiosity.

During these sessions, participants pause and notice how they think, feel, and react while looking at art. Through this process, artworks become mirrors for inner experience. As a result, visitors often discover new perspectives on themselves and the world around them.

Mindfulness in Museums brings mindfulness from the meditation room and clinical practice into museums: spaces for presence, care, and shared humanity.

Mindfulness in Museums and the Mesdag Collection

The collaboration between Mindfulness in Museums (MiM) and the Mesdag Collection explores how mindfulness can deepen our attention to nature, small details, and everyday beauty.

Guided art meditations were developed in connection with the exhibition “Anne Geene. Buitengewoon”, inviting visitors to slow down and observe artworks with curiosity and care.

In a small group setting, participants spend time in silence with selected artworks while being gently guided through a meditation. The session encourages visitors to notice sensory experience, thoughts, and emotions that arise while encountering the work.

Museum Context

The Mesdag Collection in The Hague is a historic museum that preserves the former home and art collection of painter Hendrik Willem Mesdag and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten.

The museum presents a remarkable collection of 19th-century art alongside contemporary exhibitions that connect historical and modern artistic perspectives.

Within this environment, the exhibition “Anne Geene. Buitengewoon” explores the beauty of overlooked details in nature and everyday objects.

Many of the artworks in the exhibition were created using materials collected in the museum garden and on the beach of nearby Scheveningen.

Mindfulness in Museums contributes to this context by offering guided art experiences that invite visitors to encounter these works with attention and curiosity.

Mindfulness in Museums Programme

Mindfulness in Museums sessions at the Mesdag Collection usually include:

• a short mindfulness check-in meditation
• guided attention to selected artworks
• reflection on sensory and emotional experience
• inquiry connecting the artwork with everyday life

Participants learn to observe their inner experience while engaging with the artwork. This supports emotional regulation and clearer awareness.

In addition, the sessions help people shift from thinking about art to sensing it directly.

Connection to the Exhibition

Mindfulness in Museums sessions were developed in connection with the exhibition:

Anne Geene — Buitengewoon

Anne Geene’s work explores the worlds of plants, animals, and everyday objects with great curiosity and attention. Her artistic practice reveals beauty in details that we often overlook.

During the mindfulness sessions, visitors encounter these artworks in silence and are guided to observe carefully, slowing down their perception and opening space for reflection.

Practical Information

Location: Mesdag Collection — The Hague
Dates: 25 April and 1 June 2025
Time: 10:00 AM
Duration: 1.5 hours
Group size: maximum 10 participants

The sessions are open to anyone interested in exploring the relationship between art and mental health.

Impact

Mindfulness in Museums shows how museums can become spaces for presence, emotional regulation, and social connection when programmes are facilitated by trained professionals.

Participants often report:

• deeper engagement with artworks
• increased calm and attention
• new perspectives on everyday experience
• a sense of shared presence with others

Since 2020, more than 25 museums internationally have worked with Mindfulness in Museums (MiM), reaching nearly 2,000 participants.

MiM is applied and endorsed by leading partners such as the Van Gogh Museum, Museum of the Mind, and Oxford Mindfulness Foundation.

Role of Mindfulness in Museums

Mindfulness in Museums collaborated with the Mesdag Collection to:

• develop guided art meditation sessions connected to the exhibition
• facilitate mindfulness experiences in the museum galleries
• explore how attention to nature and everyday details can deepen art experiences

The MiM methodology is evidence-based, stress-, neuro- and trauma-informed.

All programmes are delivered by qualified mindfulness teachers trained at recognised institutions.

Mindfulness in Museums is a practice-led expertise emerging from the museum field itself, shaped by the sensory and emotional possibilities of art.

Partner

Mesdag Collection
The Hague — The Netherlands

Connect with Mindfulness in Museums

Whether you are a museum professional, a mindfulness practitioner, or simply curious — this is your starting point.