An international, cross-disciplined collaboration

This exhibition was curated by Dr. Mai Khanh Tran (Mika), from LSBU Business School, in collaboration with two colleagues from Tokyo University of Technology, Dr. Miyuki Morikawa and Dr. Mizuho Iinuma, School of Media Science.

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The exhibition also received support from young Arts illustrators and Award winners of D&AD New Blood, Dala Minh Hieu. Visitors attending the exhibition could see real healing stories of young people in both Japan and the UK through the use of sketches, illustrations, and storybooks.

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The interplay between Arts, Culture and Well-being  

The exhibition space concept was developed around the three main types of wellbeing in Japan: physical well-being, emotional well-being, and social well-being (commonly known as sustainability in the UK context).  Visitors were enabled to interact with a range of cultural objects in Japan that are used in healing journey, including an exclusive collection of Yukata and Kimono pieces –symbols of all forms of well-being in Japanese culture.

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During the exhibition, three workshops were run to offer visitors an experience of Japanese healing practices: Reiki - recharging energy (gaining physical well-being), Shabutsu – tracing Buddha image (enhancing emotional well-being), and Hagire - DIY bag from kimono cloth, (practicing social well-being).

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Project background

The project places a strong focus on enhancing wellness and promoting sustainable living in urban environments, a shared priority for the people and governments of the UK and Japan. Recent years have seen an increase in problems related to mental, and indeed physical, well-being and life quality among citizens of both the UK and Japan, especially young people. These challenges include stress from work and study environments; the increased pressure of the cost of living; the trauma of living in small, confined spaces; the challenge of social and sometimes physical isolation; and the pressures of expectations to achieve, confirm, accomplish, and gather wealth. Work-life imbalance and a lack of access to green space also result in detachment from positive energy from nature.

“While many issues with wellbeing are rooted from extrinsic pressures, consumer experience research teaches us that the world is shaped and changed by individual decisions and actions. We expect that our introduction to numerous ways of healing may initiate the first steps in helping young people to gain their balance, find their inner peace, and cleanse and recharge their energy. We are keen to see how our introduction to the theme ‘Social well-being’ can support the call to build a greener, healthier environment for all, and consequently entice younger audiences to pursue a more sustainable, mindful lifestyle.” - Dr. Mika – Mai Khanh Tran, LSBU Senior lecturer in Digital Marketing

Our early findings

Within the first two days, the exhibition attracted almost 500 visitors, mainly students from various Universities in the UK as well as practitioners from various industries, such as The Natural History Museum and Climate Arc.

Visitors found it intriguing to get to know that every single detail displayed and curated in the exhibition are research data extracted from our research projects in 2023 and 2024, in which we examined the similarity (and differences) in practices used by young people in different countries to gain their well-being on a daily basis. Our visualisation of interview data through arts installation and Infographic was well received by all visitors, as shown in their surveys. Moreover, the exhibition offered us fresh insights into the impact of mindfulness interventions on consumer behavior changes. We are particularly interested in the impact of Eastern healing culture, in particular, Japanese healing techniques and practices, on the Western consumers. Visitors demonstrated huge interest in Japanese living concepts such as Ikigai (A reason for living), Wabi-Sabi (Finding beauty in imperfection and authenticity), or Mottainai (avoiding waste), which they are keen to learn from in order to slowdown, keep their focus in their daily lives, and be more mindful in their spending and consumption.

Among the workshop activities, visitors showed strong interest in the ‘Hagire’ workshop (using Kimono scraps to create mini draw-string bags), expressing their excitement in participating in a social well-being activity. Not only they could engage in a reuse and recycle process of fabric, but they also got to learn more about Japanese culture and had a quality time with peers and developed new circle of friends. Participants saw this as ‘calm experience and nice socialising time, which in turn contributed to their emotional wellbeing.

Common themes of well-being activities and practices between the UK and Japan can be found through the ‘interactive zone.’ These include ‘love of nature’ (known as Shinrin Yoku in Japan), music, foods, and anime. To develop this interactive zone, we used data from the research workshops run in Japan, in which we asked Japanese participants to share their stories of healing through collage of photos and any forms of Arts. Their works, with their consent, were printed and displayed in ‘A healing exhibition.’ We asked participants in the UK related questions, sharing their healing stories and drawing their healing activities on paper, then pinned the sketches on the board under the relevant themes.

For future research, visitors expect to see a ‘comeback’ of the exhibition with more healing stories of people and more artworks, as these are effective ‘well-being’ interventions that help them feel calm and happy.