ANIMAL THERAPY

Museum of the Mind

On view

Animals can have a therapeutic effect. Who doesn’t love the comfort of a petting a dog or cuddling with a cat? There’s a reason goat yoga became so popular. In Animal Therapy, we explore how animals support human wellbeing. With a limited budget and tight timeframe, we set out to help the Museum of the Mind's team with their new exhibition plans for the Outsider Art Museum. Together we created an exhibition that celebrates our bond with animals, and the creativity it can spark.

Location
Amsterdam (NL)
Client
Museum of the Mind
Year
2025
Service
Creative direction, spatial design
Marlene Dumas's work Het Hooghuys portrays the inhabitants of a psychiatric institution, humans and animals alike, next to each other as equals.

Awaken your senses

A maze-like layout invites you to freely wonder and get lost in the little worlds you discover. Are you at the farm, in the air, or deep into your own fantasy? Vibrant colors, subtle soundscapes and tactile elements enhance each world’s distinct atmosphere. The different themes are never spelled out explicitly, we leave it up to the observant visitors to sense a change each time they turn a corner. 

Three-part collage

The exhibition features subtle soundscapes. Can you hear the fluttering of wings in the air, of the slithering in the water?
Colors are full of meaning. Some evoke an obvious association, like green for the forest. An exotic orangy red emphasises how tropical animals can appear almost alien in the pale Dutch light.

Art is therapeutic, come make some!

Art can help us pause, reflect, and feel. It’s therapeutic – not just to encounter art, but to make art yourself. Animal Therapy extends an open invitation to create. Grab a clipboard and get inspired by the collection pieces directly in front of you. Crayons or paint? No problem! All materials are allowed. Come up with your own composition or follow one of the prompts to make your own unique animal.

Three-part collage

Draw your own fantasy animal.
After the death of his wife, Louis Wain found comfort in drawing his cat Peter. He continued to portray cats for the rest of his life, while struggling with his mental health.
We want Animal Therapy to feel like an artistic meditative exercise.
Lucandrea

Lucandrea BaraldiLead designer

Worth a look if you are interested in mental illness, or cats.

Visitor of the exhibition
The museum invited everyone to pay a creative tribute to an animal they hold dear. Visitors could vote on their favorite. The winner received a place on the exhibition walls.
Add some fur to the cat on the wall with a pencil. Together visitors bring it to life.

Quick decisions and intuitive compositions

Designing Animal Therapy was an exercise in composition and pace on a small scale. We aimed for a maximum contrast between themes and colors to create that feeling of multiple worlds. The limited timeframe challenged us to make decisions quickly. There was no time for technical drawings that specify exactly where each art piece goes on the wall. Instead, we made these compositions on the spot, as the art was being placed on the wall. Being present allowed us to intuitively design and respond to the space.

Related projects