Visual Art and Empathy: A Fusion of the Intellectual and the Emotional

Recent studies point to the importance of emotional intelligence and empathy in higher education, particularly in light of current systemic challenges and student mental health concerns. The expansion of research on empathy, from the field of science into higher education has prompted new lines of inquiry about how it can be developed to enhance learning skills such as perspective taking, communication, and critical thinking while fostering greater inclusion and equity. As explored in this publication, encounters with visual art, including those that take shape in museums, can serve as a powerful way to cultivate empathy. A question might be this: in what ways are museums uniquely positioned as learning environments that cultivate empathy, shared learning, and even discomfort? This chapter draws upon museum-based teaching practices conducted with university students to address the connections between visual art, museums, and empathy. Through engagement with inquiry-based teaching modules, this research proposes that students across the disciplinary spectrum can develop empathic responses through encounters with visual art, and nurture metacognitive competencies such as self- and social awareness and critical capacities that shape anti-racist mindsets. Art museums can help foster learning that is emotionally oriented, active, and student-centered while helping address systemic issues and institutional injustices.