Ewelina Chwiejda

I am an art historian specializing in the relationship between art and the mind — first at the scale of societies, now at the scale of a single attentive encounter with an artwork.

I hold a PhD in Art History and Theory from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, where my dissertation examined the representation of the “European refugee crisis” in media and contemporary art. My scholarship has always been interdisciplinary, bridging art history with the social sciences.

In recent years, my research has turned to the intersection of art, mental health, and neuroaesthetics: how mindful modes of art engagement — slow looking, guided art meditation, art-historical learning — may support attention, emotion regulation, and meaning-making in contemporary life. My latest article, “From Bare to Informed Looking” (Arts, 2026), proposes mindful art engagement as a resource for emotion regulation and cognitive enrichment at a time when many of us feel unsettled by AI. It is open access: https://doi.org/10.3390/arts15100233.

At Art Wanderer Lab, I put this research into practice: science-based guided meditations with individual artworks, combining slow looking with MBSR-informed guidance, and a growing open library of art meditation resources. I am currently testing the Lab’s first guided meditations and would be delighted to offer free access to members of this community in exchange for honest feedback — just send me a message.