Arts and health working together can change lives. Here’s how Australia can do it better

Arts and health is a broad field defined by its use of the arts to improve health and wellbeing. Practitioners make use of different artistic mediums such as visual arts, creative writing, music, dance, photography and more. This work can take place in hospitals, aged care homes, community centres, theatres, libraries, music festivals and beyond.

Arts and health can be the use of music to slow down the heart rate of premature babies. It can be a community choir that helps those with dementia connect with friends and family. It can be an illustrated book about resilience in the face of natural disasters. Or it can be a health promotion campaign about the everyday wellbeing benefits of the arts.