90 Emotional health

Emotional health

Recharge zones for emotions are emerging in public spaces around the world.

Public spaces for mental health and emotional wellbeing are popping up as the stigma around addressing mental health begins to dissolve.

A public art space in Madrid allows visitors to address and visualize the status of their mental health. La Lloreria (the Crying Room) seeks to banish taboos around mental health issues, reserving space for the deliberation, acknowledgement, and artistic visualization of emotional wellbeing. In October 2021, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez announced a €100 million ($116 million) mental healthcare drive, indicating a greater public focus on mental health in the country.

Social media brand Pinterest launched Pinterest Havens in October 2021, aiming to create “an online and offline space for community-driven inspiration.” The company also commissioned Havens: Invest in Rest, a physical installation in Chicago featuring a mural by local artist Dwight White, physical Pins of relaxing imagery, immersive art, and community programming to combat burnout and encourage viewers to focus on their emotional wellbeing.

In October 2021, the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City opened the Mandala Lab, a cultural healing space designed to encourage emotional wellness and inspire connection through Buddhist principles. Visitors can explore the complexity of their emotions, address them and transform them. Executive director Jorrit Britschgi said the space was designed to “empower us to face today’s challenges: to widen our imagination, understand and manage our emotions, enrich our capacity for empathy, and connect with others.”

Why it’s interesting Are these emotionally charged spaces the playgrounds of the future? Room set aside to connect, rest and meditate is being molded into public areas grounded in community.

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