This blog was originally published in Engage magazine
Introduction
The Art Doctors are Leeds-based artists Alison McIntyre and Liz Stirling and our aim is to help break down barriers to participation in contemporary art whilst gently questioning the idea that art is good for you.
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As galleries and museum buildings become more social spaces, Art Doctors offer an accessible way for families, groups and individuals to access exhibitions and collections, and talk about contemporary art. We accost visitors in a friendly way, some of whom are just planning to visit the café or are merely passing by and had no intention of seeing contemporary art. We look ridiculous and people laugh at us, so we are able to approach audiences in a totally non-threatening manner. We create a tongue-in-cheek spectacle whilst also facilitating meaningful engagement.
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The Art Doctors sit between audience and art institution, acting as a bridge between complex and challenging work and visitors who may not find contemporary art accessible. We work within and outside the gallery setting with community groups, diffusing preconceptions and fears about contemporary art before a gallery visit or exploring connections between arts and wellbeing more generally. If art institutions are to remain viable in a climate where earned income becomes vital then bridges such as Art Doctors are also vital to ensure audiences keep visiting.
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The Art Doctors at British Art Show 8
We were originally commissioned to create the Art Doctors to support engagement for the British Art Show (BAS8) through Arts and Minds, an arts and mental health organisation in Leeds. We talked to members of the public to diagnose what their art needs might be, then prescribed a healthy dose of the exhibition. Some patients described a feeling of uncertainty about understanding art, so we prescribed a blanket or cushion to clutch for comfort. Others were overwhelmed by the sheer size of the show or didn’t have much time so we recommended they spent their time with three particular pieces and ignored the rest. Our key aims were to encourage people who might just be walking past or who might not think contemporary art was for them to visit the exhibition, to promote the idea that art can be good for everyone's mental wellbeing and that anyone can appreciate art; you don't have to be an expert!
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In order to make accurate and relevant diagnoses and prescriptions we asked visitors a number of questions, along the following lines:
·     How do you feel about contemporary art/art exhibitions in general?
·     What kinds of exhibitions do you usually visit?
·     How are you feeling today? Would you like a challenge or something more peaceful and contemplative?
·     How much time do you have?
·     Do you make anything yourself? Would you like some inspiration?
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We also gave out prompt cards to help visitors contemplate their prescribed works of art, with questions such as:
·     Would I have this in my house? If so, which room?
·     What do I love about this?
·     Maybe just looking is enough?
·     But what does it mean?

The prompt cards were also all printed with the words ‘Your response is valid’. A key element of the Art Doctor prescription was that we encouraged the validity of any response, positive or negative. If visitors found anything hard to understand it shouldn’t make them feel stupid, they might just want to spend longer with that work, need to talk about it more, or might just not like it.
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If they were feeling unconfident or worried, it was at this point that we might also prescribe a cushion or blanket to take with them for comfort. Visitors with these props were encouraged to sit or lie down for a rest if they felt the need at any point, or even to pretend that the cushion was the artist if they had any particularly violent emotions they wanted to express.
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We visited three cities that hosted BAS8: Leeds, where the exhibition was shown at Leeds Art Gallery; Edinburgh, where the show was at Inverleith House, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and Talbot Rice Gallery; and Norwich, where the exhibition was split between Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery and East Gallery/St George’s Building at Norwich University of the Arts (NUA). In each city we had very different experiences with very different audiences.

Leeds
During our day of prescribing in Leeds we were situated outside the gallery and spent time accosting people on the steps as they were about to enter the gallery. As the same entrance is also used for a popular café, situated between the gallery and the central library, we spoke to a great number of people who weren’t planning to see BAS8 but were intrigued by the idea of an Art Doctor prescription and visited the exhibition as a result. Leeds was the only city where the whole exhibition was housed in one venue, and visitors were often very receptive to being prescribed just a few pieces to explore as the whole exhibition sometimes felt a little overwhelming.

EdinburghÂ
In Edinburgh we first talked with and got feedback from some groups of older people who had been taken to see the exhibition earlier that day. They attended craft café and art groups in Edinburgh and Glasgow and had brought some of their work to display in an exhibition, in a Botanic Gardens building. As they had already seen the exhibition we didn’t prescribe to them, but heard about their responses to the exhibition and about their own artworks. They all thought that seeing, making and talking about art is definitely good for you.
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Later in the day we were part of Botanics Late, an event at the Botanic Gardens, where Inverleith House Gallery is situated. This experience was a bit more like being a real GP as the event was incredibly busy and consultation times got considerably shorter as a result! Interestingly, most people being diagnosed hadn’t planned to come to the exhibition but had been attracted to the wider event, so it was a brilliant way to introduce new people to the British Art Show. And they loved being able to access the different pieces of work through the Art Doctors.
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‘The Art Doctors were an excellent addition to the evening opening as part of Botanics Late. They were able to communicate with the audience, who were there for a fun evening in the gardens, at exactly the right pitch, and as a result audience members spent longer engaging with the exhibition and considering more closely individual artworks.’
Exhibitions Officer, Inverleith House

Norwich
In Norwich we spent Saturday at The Castle Museum and Gallery and then Sunday at St George’s Building at NUA. We noted differences between the kinds of visitor and their engagement with BAS8 at the two venues.
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The show was hung in two galleries at The Castle Museum and was competing with more traditional oil paintings and watercolours, as well as the rest of the Castle Museum collections. Most of the people who were given prescriptions didn’t know about BAS8 and hadn’t planned to visit any modern art while they were there. We therefore pitched their consultations to talk generally about modern and contemporary art and tried to encourage people to take a risk on something they hadn’t been planning to see, and maybe felt a little wary of.
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We tried to connect the work we prescribed to what visitors had already planned to see in the museum or other galleries; more traditional references for the oil painting lovers and maybe work that directly referenced objects, such as Bedwyr Williams, Century Egg, (2015) for the museum visitors. This prompted long, interesting and very honest discussions with some visitors about meaning in contemporary art and its place in art history. Some visitors proposed that it would have been interesting if the show was curated to mix more with and reference the other exhibits in the museum and other galleries to help visitors make these links without the our help. A number of visitors very much enjoyed having the ‘Would I have this in my house? If so which room?’ prompt card, and found it a useful and interesting way to prompt deeper discussions about their reactions to the work. Gallery staff also mentioned that seeing people holding prescriptions or prompt cards made it much easier for them to approach and talk to them about the work in the exhibition.
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Visitors to St George’s Buildings were generally much more confident about visiting and talking about contemporary art, many were artists themselves or working in the art world. They had come specifically to see the show or had been drawn in by the signage outside. There was a lot of work to see at NUA so the prescriptions were designed more to challenge visitors about work they thought they didn’t like (usually video and sound pieces), to give them a focus if they didn’t have much time, or to prompt further discussions – particularly about the work we ourselves had found challenging. Despite being more confident gallery visitors, they still loved getting a prescription as an introduction to the exhibition and the opportunity to discuss their responses.

Visitor comments on BAS8 after a prescription:
‘The cushion made the whole work for me. I felt part of the show. This was like my little installation.’
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‘The big textured piece reminded me of mum’s work so I looked at it. It is an animal with big ears, but it is burning through into the light. It made me feel quite emotional. The tower is powerful and you could abseil it, but it is too precise and contained. The white bird is striking, it is gawky but it is looking after itself by eating the berry. The portraits are disappointing – they are lacking emotion and personality. They have not captured the essence of the person.’
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‘I was a bit surprised about the naked people and I liked some of the paintings.’
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‘Art is fun, art is therapy – nothing to be scared of – there is no right or wrong – there just is. Though the abstract pieces were very interesting and thought provoking – inspiration to ‘have a go’ at some different techniques and materials.’
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‘The lady who sang had tremendous control and voice projection, seemed effortless. Really quite something.’
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‘I thought it was good because it’s not very often you see a croissant on something in an art gallery.’
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‘When it comes to art I can’t work it out. Unless it’s a picture of a man. Or a bus.’
Bus driver in Leeds
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‘Such a great idea. It was a welcoming, fun and interesting introduction to an exhibition.’
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Galleries as social spaces
There are many benefits to galleries becoming more social spaces, rather than quiet chapels where the initiated worship the splendour of art, one of which is the opportunity to engage people who may be new to contemporary art or who may not think it is for them. There are two aspects to this, which we will discuss in this section and the next.
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The first is making arts institutions more approachable for those who are not familiar or comfortable users. As can be seen from our interactions with audiences, many of them were only planning to visit social spaces (cafés, etc.) connected to the gallery, and the Art Doctors act as a bridge between audiences new to contemporary art and engaging in the exhibition. We are approachable, we look silly, we offer an opportunity to talk and discuss responses in a personal and relaxed way, and we are totally non-judgemental.
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We think it is important to acknowledge that contemporary art is often difficult to comprehend and find meaning in, compared to more traditional artworks where people feel their experience is a bit more ‘what you see is what you get’. Although this is not always the case, the wider public’s perception of contemporary art is often that it is impenetrable and ‘not for me’. We don’t think contemporary art should stop being complex and multi-layered but we should acknowledge that a large proportion of the public see this as a barrier to their participation. Interestingly, we don’t think it actually takes very much to break down this barrier... just a conversation with the Art Doctors, or – as in the case of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park – mixing the contemporary art experience with beautiful countryside and the opportunity to walk your dog, appears to go a long way towards encouraging people to engage.
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Our presence in the gallery or organisation can influence and maybe even change a visitor’s relationship to that building or organisation. We provide a warm and friendly welcome to buildings that may need to work hard in lots of ways to communicate that they are approachable and relevant. We offer an introduction to an exhibition, which helps to make it less overwhelming, a bit like reading the back of a book or watching a film trailer, which can provide some context. By making links to existing interests we give people routes into work they might otherwise find challenging. Visitors often specifically asked not to be prescribed video work as they really didn’t enjoy it, but if they had also mentioned in the conversation that they liked paintings, we usually prescribed John Richards’ Raking Light (2014) film as a challenge. This was because his work is quite painterly, it is calm and meditative and concerned with the art of looking, so people who liked paintings usually responded very well to it. We hope this went some way to breaking down some of their negative conceptions about artist films in general.
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Considering this has led us to think about the role of invigilators and front of house staff within institutions and even the language we use for them. The definition of an invigilator is ‘to keep watch’ or even ‘to watch over examination candidates, especially to prevent cheating’ – not a definition that really promotes a relaxed environment in which people can talk and discuss their responses to works of art!
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In Norwich the gallery staff told us about how much easier it was for them to approach visitors who were holding a written prescription from us. This prompted us to think that all gallery staff could be Art Doctor-trained to give prescriptions as visitors enter the gallery.
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Leeds Art Gallery are recruiting volunteer Live Guides for their re-opening in October, who will be there specifically to engage with the public, and we’re hoping to organise some Art Doctor training as part of their role. We are also considering creating an Art Doctor prescribing pack that would include costumes, resources for people to brand and print their own blank prescriptions, the prompt cards and a consultation guide.

Access and interpretation
The second aspect is about people having more confidence to discuss their ideas and the potential for galleries to use material garnered from visitors to help interpret the work for others. By creating a safe and non-judgemental space for audience voices and opinions, the Art Doctors can also contribute to the interpretation of contemporary art within galleries, and provide invaluable feedback to artists and institutions.
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Many people seem to find talking about contemporary art difficult, off-putting, impenetrable, or even frightening, but are comfortable discussing their likes and dislikes in music, literature, fashion and other cultural areas. Often when we don’t like something we might not be completely sure why, and we feel worried that we might just not have understood it properly.
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Sometimes artists and galleries compound this feeling by describing their work with impenetrable and difficult language. Many galleries and museums have developed ways of tackling these issues, often through learning teams working with curators. For example, Leeds Art Gallery are planning a number of engagement activities that will also help to create diverse interpretations of the collection for visitors. These include taking work from the collection out into the community to record responses to the work and lunchtime lectures from different people, including student Live Guides who will be living with the work and seeing it every day, maybe someone working behind the scenes like a conservator, or local people.
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The Art Doctors’ approach to audiences can create very accessible audience responses and opinions, giving art institutions rich material for alternative ways to enable understanding, access and interpretation of contemporary art for wider audiences.
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We spoke to Jane Bhoyroo, Curator at Leeds Art Gallery who considers that, for them, the expert opinion was a starting point and that it was important for them to engage with audiences beyond just collecting comment cards. She felt that conversations were the most important and valuable way to enhance visitor experiences and gather feedback, and that social, rather than intellectual, engagement was often the best way to achieve this.
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Art Doctors demonstrates that artist-led projects can provide opportunities for evaluation and feedback that are difficult to achieve in other ways. Such projects can be used as research and development for institutions, with the potential to integrate findings into staff training, and sustain the ideas and ethos through new resources, and regular activities.
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In conclusion, to partially steal a phrase from Bob and Roberta Smith…
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‘All Galleries Should Be Art Doctor Galleries’.
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