Visual arts

Patients diagnosed with Covid-related stress in Brussels are being prescribed free visits to museums and galleries.

Doctors at Brugmman Hospital are offering visits to five publicly owned sites across the Belgian capital, including its centre for contemporary art, a fashion museum and a museum of the city's sewage system.

“It has been shown that art can be beneficial for health, both mental and physical,” Brussels' City Councillor for Tourism Delphine Houba said.

The idea forms part of a three-month pilot scheme designed to bolster mental health during the pandemic.

Inspiration has come from a similar programme in Quebec, Canada, where doctors prescribe up to 50 museum visits a year per patient.

The Bank of England has removed 10 oil paintings and busts of governors and directors with known connections to the transatlantic slave trade.

On display within the bank’s headquarters and museum, the works from the 18th and 19th Century included its founding director Gilbert Heathcote. 

The bank announced a review of its art collection last June following last year’s Black Lives Matter protests.

It has also hired a researcher on slavery for its museum, to “explore the bank's historic links with the transatlantic slave trade in detail.”

A Bank of England spokesperson said the work will shape future museum displays interpreting these connections.