art, health & wellbeing
Art, Health and Wellbeing is a broad phrase covering the connections between arts and health, social inclusion, sustainable development and so on. The Australia Council 2004 publication Art and Wellbeing provides a useful snapshot of activity.
Arts Access Australia is primarily interested in arts and health, both mental health and the wellbeing of people with other disabilities, particularly in non-clinical settings. It’s a complex field with much activity and some attempts at description. In 2003 the now defunct Artwork magazine dedicated an issue to Arts and Health which included two articles that are available electronically:
Australian Arts and Health by Jo Kaspari and Sally Clifford
The Place of Disability in Arts Health and Wellbeing by Gareth Wreford
There are several conferences and events, with a significant arts and health component, taking place in 2009 including:
National Rural Health Alliance Cairns May 2009
The Arts Health Research and Practice Centre at the University of Newcastle publishes a journal and holds regular events with the next conference in October 2009
International Arts and Health Conference Port Macquarie November 2009
Arts Access Australia’s current activities in the arts, health and wellbeing area include:
1. A partnership with the Mental Health Council of Australia to seek resources to:
a) Hold the first National Arts and Health forum bringing together state, territory and federal government health departments to identify and improve arts and health policy and programs, and
b) Conduct an impact evaluation of current arts and health practice to assess the effectiveness of current evaluation practice and develop a resource to support best practice.
An overview of the Australia Council’s arts and health strategy Measuring Health Outcomes of Engagement in the Arts: The Arts Health Strategy for the Australia Council can be downloaded as a powerpoint from the Cultural Development Network 2007 Arts and Local Government conference.
2. Arts Access Australia, in partnership with the Brain Mind Research Institute, won a national tender for a demonstration arts and health project in 2007. The project commenced in 2008 through ground to a halt later that year. In 2009 we are assessing the difficulties that led to the project’s collapse and anticipate a summary report of lessons learnt will be available here soon.
3. Arts and Health: An International Journal for Research Policy and Practice. The first issue of this international journal was published in March 2009. Arts Access Australia is writing an overview of arts and health in Australia for publication in 2010.
4. DADAA and Arts Access Australia, with the Rio Tinto Future Fund, held a national arts and health conference in September 2008.
5. In 2008 DADAA published a major arts and health study Proving The Practice: Evidencing the impact of community arts participation on mental health. For copies of the publication contact DADAA.
A Short Note about Therapy
For anyone working in the area of arts and health the delicate, and at times difficult, relationship between artist, with or without a disability, and art therapist is impossible to avoid. Arts Access Australia supports the right of all people to creative expression while therapy is generally more interested in art as a diagnostic or treatment tool.
In practice it’s not always that simple, as for people with a disability who have high support needs, therapy often offers one of the few creative outlets available; while people with episodic conditions like mental health may move in and out of community and clinical settings. This means the discussion between art and therapy is ongoing and some relationship is necessary. For a useful example of art therapy see the West Australian Health Department supported Creative Expression Centre for Art Therapy (CECAT) and Reflections Arts Studio.
International
There is a wealth of international material on arts, health and wellbeing, especially in the UK. Arts Access Australia suggests starting with:
UK Arts for Health
UK Centre for Arts and Humanities in Health and Medicine (CAHHM)
USA Society for the Arts in Healthcare
USA Community Arts Network – Arts and Healthcare
Arts Access International
Looking for more information? Try our Links section.
