“The Role of Arts in Culture and Health” (2019) by Edwin Torres
“These examples speak not only to the health benefits of participation in arts and culture, but also to the integral nature of art and culture, health, and community development.”


“How museums are helping people explore their mental health” (2019) by Alison Coles
“Some said that they felt less defined by their mental health difficulties because the sessions were not held on NHS premises. Our museum sessions also encouraged independence and helped participants to feel valued and connected to the world outside mental health services.”


Arts Fund Social Impact Study (2018)
The study explores the ways arts programs in the Seattle area promote social change and address community needs. Learn more: www.artsfund.org/SocialImpact


“Community Development Innovation Review: Arts, Culture, and Community Mental Health” (2018) by Jamie Hand and Tasha Golden
“Based on an analysis of dozens of projects, a literature review, and input from both arts and public health‒sector leaders, Golden identified several domains where arts and cultural strategies are helping drive change in community health outcomes, or to the systems in which public health practitioners operate. Among these domains, what quickly stood out was the impact of creative placemaking on mental health—including stigma; trauma; community-level stress, depression, and substance use disorders; and cultural identity.”



 "How I Used Art to Get Through Trauma" (2018) by Terry Sullivan
"My encounter with a gunman on my evening commute led to nightmares and depression. Art helped me recover from post-traumatic stress, and it might help you, too."


Free Thinking Essay: Art for Health's Sake (2018), BBC Radio 3 Arts & Ideas 


"Jigsaw of Homeless Support" by With One Voice
With One Voice's theoretical model to communicate the importance of the arts to support people who have experienced homelessness.


"Country Review of Arts and Homelessness in North America" by With One Voice (PDF)
Or click here to view PDFs of the executive summary and the report itself on With One Voice's website.


Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing - Second Edition (2017) by The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing (APPGAHW).
“In the words of the late arts and health researcher Mike White, ‘good relationships are a major determinant of health’. The American social scientist Robert Putnam has identified trust as a vital feature of social organisation. Jane Jacobs, who advocated placebased, community-centred approaches to urban planning in the 1960s, pointed to casual social contact at a local level as central to building trust. Arts engagement – which often involves casual social contact at a local level – is regularly cited as a forum for building trust.

“The arts can provide access to deeper and more nuanced thoughts and feelings than we commonly experience. They contain the potential for ‘selfactualisation and self-realisation’. They can foster creativity and fresh experiences, bring new understandings and insights and offer the ‘potential for pleasure, transcendence and beauty’.”


“It's time to recognise the contribution arts can make to health and wellbeing" (2017) by Nicola Slawson
"An evaluation revealed a 71% decrease in feelings of anxiety and a 73% fall in depression; 76% of participants said their wellbeing increased and 69% felt more socially included...

'What’s lovely about it, is that if you’re feeling depressed, the simple act of being in a room with other people – where you’ve got the space and time to just be yourself – really helps to improve your mood,' Allen says. 'There’s such a feeling of camaraderie and friendship.'"


 “The Mental Health Benefits of Art are for Everyone” (2017) by Deane Alban
“Activities like painting, sculpting, drawing, and photography are relaxing and rewarding hobbies that can lower your stress levels and leave you feeling mentally clear and calm.”

“Students who visited a museum not only showed increased critical thinking skills, they also exhibited greater empathy towards how people lived in the past and expressed greater tolerance towards people different than themselves.”


 “Art Enhances Brain Function and Well-Being” (2015) By Renee Phillips
“Research has proven the arts develop neural systems that produce a broad spectrum of benefits ranging from fine motor skills to creativity and improved emotional balance. Quite simply, the arts are invaluable to our proper functioning individually and as a society.”


 “How Art Changes Your Brain: Differential Effects of Visual Art Production and Cognitive Art Evaluation on Functional Brain Connectivity” (2014) by Anne Bolwerk, Jessica Mack-Andrick, Frieder R. Lang, Arnd Dörfler, Christian Maihöfner
“Our findings are the first to demonstrate the neural effects of visual art production on psychological resilience in adulthood.”

“Our results revealed that visual art production leads to improved interaction, particularly between the frontal and posterior and temporal brain regions, and thus may become an important prevention tool in managing the burden of chronic diseases in older adults.”


 “Science Shows that Art Can Do Incredible Things for Your Mind And Body” (2014) by Gabe Bergado
“They state in the study, ‘The visual art production intervention involved the development of personal expression and attentional focus on self-related experience during art creation.’ Utilizing motor skills and thinking about art together becomes more beneficial instead of doing either separately.”


“Study Says Making Art Is Good For Your Brain, And We Say You Should Listen” (2014) by Katherine Brooks
“New cognitive research out of Germany suggests that “the production of visual art improves effective interaction” between parts of the brain. The study, conducted on a small population of newly retired individuals (28 people between the ages of 62 and 70), concludes that making art could delay or even negate age-related decline of certain brain functions.”


“It Turns Out Your Brain Might Be Wired To Enjoy Art, So You Have No Excuses” (2014) by Katherine Brooks
“What scientists found, after evaluating these studies, is that viewing paintings triggered activity in regions of the brain associated with ‘vision, pleasure, memory, recognition and emotions, in addition to systems that underlie the conscious processing of new information to give it meaning.’”


 "The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature" (2010) by Heather L. Stuckey (DEd) & Jeremy Nobel (MD, MPH)
"There is evidence that engagement with artistic activities, either as an observer of the creative efforts of others or as an initiator of one's own creative efforts, can enhance one's moods, emotions, and other psychological states as well as have a salient impact on important physiological parameters."