With so much of our time spent on the internet, at work, or in school, many people feel that a museum is a waste of time, or at least, low on their list of options for how they want to spend their leisure time. While the sentiment that there are “better things to be doing” may feel true, avoiding museums altogether because you don’t know what to do in them must be unlearned! 

I always hated museums as a kid. They were eerily quiet, lacked sufficient seating for all the time you spent standing and ultimately weren’t that interesting to begin with. In fact, I never understood how they stayed in business with all their expensive artwork and their quiet empty halls. 

When you think about it, a museum functions the same as a safe: a place where you keep all your valuables, trinkets, letters, gifts, all the things that spark an emotion in you. They’re kept safe and together in a space you can return to at your will. If you think of each piece of artwork in a museum as one of those special things in that box, each work has meaning imbued into it by the creator, by the emotions they intended to evoke, by all the people who’ve ever looked at it and by the very question of its existence. When you begin to imagine that each piece of art in a museum has lived a life of its own before you’ve faced it, the museum will come alive as its history and your presence meet. 

Stay for as little or as long as you want

Many people feel intimidated by the concept of wandering around a museum because it can seem pointless. Why walk through halls of one building when you could be heading towards your next destination? Wandering around a museum is not difficult, and frankly, the artwork is there for you to enjoy; it’s not forcing you to engage with it, so stop thinking about it like a chore. Instead of wandering with a purpose, think of your time as a moment to reengage with your interest; find pieces that speak to you, not the ones you think should, and acknowledge them. So long as you find pieces that speak to you, you can go as quickly or slowly as you want.

There are no rules in art beyond its ability to evoke emotion. So if something evokes an emotion in you, listen to that and try and figure out why. Does it make you uncomfortable because it looks angry or too fragile or too bright? Do you like it because it feels serene or calm? Interrogate these feelings and you will find yourself pondering the effects of the work like an artist! 

Identify what you like to look at

This may sound obvious, but one of the main factors people often attribute to not liking museums is that they “don’t like art.” This is impossible. If you have any color in your life, you like art. If you have ever made a fashion or cosmetic choice, you like art. If you’ve ever judged someone else’s taste, you like art! The point is, if you have ever engaged with art, you like art. 

Content is a great place to start when trying to understand what you like. In painting, people generally think of landscapes, portraits and still lifes as general subjects most painters paint. Thankfully, not all painters paint the same, varying in style. From impressionism to abstract art, museums typically have all different types for you to decide what you are or aren’t interested in. 

The key isn’t to stick to the names you know. Most of the time, if you feel like you should like something just because it's famous or highly acclaimed, you’ll be biased against it. First you need to decide for yourself what you actually enjoy looking at. 

If the only thing that remotely interests you are landscapes, look at landscapes! Nobody is judging you; there are scholars of the field that all they do is look at landscapes. Embrace your interests and question them until they reveal something new about yourself. Art exists to evoke!

Read the fine print

One of the best ways to discover more about the art you do like is by actually reading the labels and descriptions. Some museums have limited descriptions that tell you more about the acquisition than the art itself, in which case a quick Google search can always help. Most museums, however, include a description of where, why and how the art came to be. 

When you learn more about how a work of art is created, it begins to feel more real and relatable. A landscape isn't a painting until someone makes it one. Keeping that in mind as you look at the works in front of you, you can begin to imagine the artist themselves creating them and in turn, admire the process of creation along with the product. You are allowed to absorb artwork in any way you like, but a quick way to bring a piece to life is to learn more about its creation. 

Museums are a gift, treat your time in them like one

Historically, museums were once private collections and status symbols, bringing great artists together in conversation. But, today, the artwork in those collections has, for the most part, been scattered around the planet in different museums open to the public to see. 

As a public service, often available to the community, in many ways, for free, museums allow the emotional power of art to be felt by anyone. When given an opportunity to go to a gallery or a museum, take it and think of yourself as among the lucky few who get to have their moment with a piece of art. Who knows what worlds they might open for you.