Everything

‍Where the music finds you

Guitarist Sergio sings the children's song called, ‘Little Fish in the Water’ for a young patient and her father. The song is known to many Dutch children, but this particular patient and her father do not seem to know it. Without stopping, Sergio switches to an improvisation of the melody in an Arabic scale. The patient and her father smile.

"We try to find out what resonates, without asking too many questions," says Ciska Ruitenberg, who leads Muziekmaatjes (Music Buddies), an Arts in Health program at the Dijklander Hospital in Hoorn. The Muziekmaatjes program started over a year and a half ago at Dijklander, with music twice a week in the Neonatology and Pediatric Outpatient Clinics. Recently, the program has been expanded under the name Muziekmaatjes+ to geriatrics, kidney dialysis, oncology, and neurology.

Playing music for patients is a skill, and the Muziekmaatjes musicians are provided with specialised training from a team of three music therapists. The musicians can play any sort of music that patients might want to hear, but they are also trained to be attentive and flexible, and to 'read the room' as a healthcare worker might. “We are not there to perform,” Ruitenberg says. “We’re there to connect with people through music. And if it isn’t the right moment to play, we withdraw.” 

Dijklander staff pediatrician Dr. Noud Drewes explains that the musicians always ask permission to enter a room. As he describes it, the musicians do not “Thunder into a department to do their thing and then leave", but rather "are very much looking for interpersonal contact, and tuning in to the situation." 

The idea for the Muziekmaatjes program came to Drewes suddenly one evening over a year ago.  He was taking a singing lesson in the community, taught by Ruitenberg. Drewes shared his idea cautiously: "I said something like, 'Wouldn't that be something?'" Ruitenberg immediately saw  inspiration in the idea, and the program’s potential. Soon, the two were scheduling meetings to develop the Muziekmaatjes pilot.

It might be difficult to imagine musicians in a hospital room, until you picture the experience from the perspective of a child and their parents, suddenly confronted with a diagnosis and living with uncertainty about the future, or from that of a patient lying alone in a hospital room, feeling as though the world outside continues without them. The musicians offer each patient a moment that is 100% for the patient. This can humanise the patient’s experience of healthcare. Although scientific research shows that music can contribute to a number of positive health outcomes, Muziekmaatjes was designed simply to help patients feel comfortable and more fully alive in the alienating atmosphere of a hospital. 

When Drewes and Ruitenberg first proposed the program to the hospital, there were skeptics. "Music, fine, as long as it isn't too loud," Drewes recalls one colleague saying. After the first year of Muziekmaatjes, though, his colleagues were convinced. "When employees see that the people in their care are comfortable, smiling, and interacting, it lifts the mood for everyone," Drewes says. 

These days the musicians play for the staff almost as often as the patients, Ruitenberg says, adding that being there every week helps to build relationships with staff. "The musicians and staff have to know what they can expect of one another," Ruitenberg says. "Building that trust takes time."

Looking back on the first year of the program, Drewes sees the role of art in care within the transition currently underway in Dutch healthcare. 21st-century healthcare must encompass more than just the treatment of illness: it must also provide space for prevention and for the well-being of the whole person. For Drewes, Muziekmaatjes helps make that possible. With the program, "I can connect with my patients in a much more human way."

The first year of the Muziekmaatjes program was evaluated in a report created by Arts in Health Groningen. Here you find both the executive summary (ENG) and the full report (NL). The staff at Dijklander Hospital and the musicians were pleased to hear that the program has been extended by two years and expanded to four other departments. Drewes says of Muziekmaatjes: "They are truly part of what we are doing now, and we miss them on their days off."

Back on the pediatric ward, the father and daughter are still smiling while Sergio and the other musician finish their improvised song. The patient and her father ask the musicians to come back tomorrow.

European Culture and Health Hub brings arts and culture into EU health agenda
The Netherlands and Europe are facing growing pressures on mental health and wellbeing, alongside rising levels of loneliness, social isolation, and the challenges of an ageing population. The arts and culture can play a role in addressing those issues, though that is still overlooked in mainstream health policy. With the launch of the European Culture and Health Hub, a new Horizon Europe project, twenty organizations from thirteen European countries will collaborate over the next three years to strengthen the connection between culture, healthcare, and the social domain.Coordinated by Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland), the project brings together 20 organisations including 15 project partners and 5 associated partners, across 13 European countries. Arts in Health Groningen will represent the Netherlands in the consortium.

‍Culture as part of health and wellbeing
The European Commission’s 2025 report, Culture and Health: Time to Act, calls on the EU and Member States to support population health and wellbeing with cultural collaborations across the health, culture, and social domain sectors. A four-year Horizon Europe project called the European Culture and Health Hub launches in June 2026 to facilitate such arts in health collaborations. 

According to research from the World Health Organization, the arts can support psychological wellbeing and strengthen community resilience by helping people connect with the places they live, and with each other. Participation in the arts is also linked to improved mental and emotional health and improved health resilience. The Netherlands has begun using that evidence to steer arts in health projects, education, and research that advances the Dutch field.

Project kick-off in Groningen               
Arts in Health Groningen represents the Netherlands in this European consortium, and will host the kick-off of the European Culture and Health Hub on September 2-3 in Groningen. As part of this kick-off event, Daisy Fancourt, Professor of Psychobiology & Epidemiology and Head of the Social Biobehavioural Research Group at University College London, will give a public lecture on September 1 in collaboration with Studium Generale Groningen. Professor Fancourt is also the UNESCO Chair in Arts and Health, and Director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health, alongside leading European researchers working in the field.

“Arts engagement is increasingly recognised as a health-promoting behaviour, and there are some fantastic programmes happening across the European region putting the evidence base into practice. ECHH is poised to catalyse the field by synthesising and advancing the evidence base and translating the evidence into new programmes and policy.” says Professor Daisy Fancourt, University College London‍

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An international hub to accelerate national change
The European Culture and Health Hub will build connections among EU arts in health researchers, policy makers, and practitioners, and facilitate innovative health collaborations. The Hub will be developed with policymakers, practitioners, researchers and local communities, to ensure that it responds to real-world needs. The Hub will map the scientific evidence, and gaps in that evidence, for the arts in health field. It will also offer practical policy guidance for national, regional, and local decision makers. 

Horizon activities will include evaluating arts in health projects in multiple countries (including the Netherlands), supporting regional capacity-building, and helping stakeholders implement evidence-based practice.

“Decision-makers in the sectors of healthcare and culture were traditionally quite separate, but now recognise that they have shared values, and that they can help each other,” says Dr. Ferdinand Lewis, Director of Science and Education for Arts in Health Groningen. “The Horizon project and the Hub will be a big step toward making real collaborations between researchers, policy makers, and practitioners from both sectors.”

Project partners 

• Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland),
• University College London (United Kingdom)
• The Center for Primary Health Care Research Region Skåne (Sweden),
• Culture Action Europe (Belgium),
• EuroHealthNet (Belgium),
• University of Porto (Portugal),
• Cultural Welfare Center ETS (Italy)
• Cultura en Vena (Spain)
• Nord University (Norway)
• Arts in Health Groningen (Netherlands)
• Latvian Academy of Culture (Latvia)
• Mozarteum University Salzburg (Austria)
• Cluj Cultural Centre (Romania)
• University of Southern Denmark (Denmark)
• Hope UK (United Kingdom)

The project is supported by various associated partners who contribute expertise, policy engagement, and cross-sector collaboration: Arts + Health Ireland / Réalta (Ireland), Secretariat of the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture (Latvia), United Cities and Local Governments (Spain), UNESCO (France), and the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (Sweden).

More information
Interested organisations, professionals and artists are welcome to fill out this form to receive updates about the project.

Understanding opportunities within existing policy and regulations

Arts in Health often starts in practice, but the decisions around it determine whether initiatives can continue to grow. Many projects show how art can contribute to health, wellbeing, and quality of life. At the same time, long-term integration remains difficult because funding, collaboration, and responsibilities are often fragmented.

The report Kunst in zorg – wegen naar verankering explores where existing laws and regulations offer opportunities to organise Arts in Health in a more sustainable way. From municipalities and health insurers to welfare organisations and long-term care, the report shows that there is often more possible than people expect. It also highlights where collaboration between healthcare, culture, and policy still runs into challenges in practice.

This report was carried out by VitaValley on behalf of Arts in Health Netherlands.

What arts in health research looks like

Arts in health is studied from several scientific traditions.

Life sciences research asks what art does for health. For instance, what live music means to a patient recovering from surgery, or what creative movement can offer someone living with dementia.

Social sciences research asks what arts in health means in people's lives. How does a group museum visit shape the way someone with chronic pain experiences that pain? What does joining a choir do for people living with dementia, and for those who care for them? 

Humanities research focuses on reflection and meaning, for example: the role of the artist in care; questions of ethics and aesthetics; and what it means to make art when you are ill or caring for someone you love.

What is already happening

In 2024, the long-term care provider organisation Cordaan, with the Museum van de Geest,   funded a chair of arts in health at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management. Later that year, another appointment was established at the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication, focused on Arts & Wellbeing.

Researchers across the Netherlands are working on a national research agenda for the coming decade. The questions driving it: how can programmes survive beyond an initial project phase? How do you make effects visible? And what does arts in health mean for healthcare staff and medical education?

Research in this field is supported by ZonMw, the SPRONG Creating Cultures of Care project, the Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie, Lang Leve Kunst, and Welzijn op Recept.

For researchers
Are you a researcher? Connect with what is already happening in your field, and outside your discipline. Can your expertise catake an existing question further, or open up a new one? Collaborating across disciplines, and connecting research and practice, can make for a richer body of research.

Read more and get involved
A great deal is published internationally on arts in gealth. These resources can help you explore the field further:

• Books about arts in health
• Academical journals 
• Pilot: meet artists in the hospital
• Rapport: next steps in arts in health-network
• Interview: Evidence for the arts in UK public health
• News clip: role of the arts in health

Want to contribute to the development of arts in health research in the Netherlands? The alliance is coming. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed.

What Arts in Health looks like in practice

Arts in Health takes many forms in practice.

• Participatory projects focus on well-being. They help people relax, feel less alone and become active, curious, and reinspired. An artist might work with patients in a hospital, with healthcare professionals, or with people in a neighbourhood.
• Creative arts therapy works toward specific health outcomes. Creative arts therapists are trained and registered professionals. They use art forms as part of treatment, for example in mental health care or rehabilitation.

Together, these approaches show how broad the goals of Arts in Health are: from making social connections to meaning-making to therapy and supporting recovery.

This is already happening

In long-term care, more and more art forms are becoming part of residents’ daily lives. For example, in Amsterdam, the Ambulant Kunstteam of Cordaan brings Arts in Health professional into the community to make art with residents. 

Arts in Health Groningen is working to give art a lasting place in healthcare through pilot projects, including a collaboration with the Universal Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG), and the Buur & Boek project by NOORDWOORD, which connects people through literature. At the Dijklander Hospital, music is also becoming part of everyday care. Organisations that are already doing extensive work in Arts in Health include LKCA and Movisie.

These initiatives differ in form, but share something essential: they create space for connection, imagination and recovery.

For professionals

Arts in Health often takes place in isolated projects. By showing what works and learning from it, a practice can grow and become sustainable. We already know that Arts in Health works. Now the question is: what can you do with it in your own practice?

Do you work in a healthcare organisation?

Look for where art can connect with your day-to-day practice. Start small, for example with a pilot on one ward. See what it does for patients, clients or staff, and build from there.

Are you an artist or maker?

Take time to understand the context you are working in. What is happening on a ward or in a neighbourhood? What do people need? Work together with healthcare professionals and make sure participants feel safe.

Are you developing a project?

You do not have to start from scratch. Build on what already exists and fit your work to the people and place you are working with. Choose a form that suits the setting, and pay attention to what it does for participants

Read more and explore

These resources help you better understand Arts in Health in practice:

• Books about Arts in Health
• Academical journals
• Rapport: next steps for the Arts in Health Network
• Culture for Health and Well-being Compendium
• Arts Council Ireland, Arts in Health Handbook

Want to actively contribute to Arts in Health? Soon you will be able to join the alliance. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed.

What Arts in Health education involves

Arts in health education is growing in the Netherlands. So is the demand.

• The University of Groningen runs an annual Arts in Health Summer School, combining practical and theoretical insights into participatory practice with an introduction to creative arts therapies.
• The Prins Claus Conservatoire offers opportunities to study and research the use of music in healthcare.
• The Art of Caring Summer School brings together students from healthcare and the arts to explore where the two fields meet.
• Creative Arts Therapy Netherlands offers certified training for those who want to specialise in therapeutic applications.

Online courses are also available from University College London, King's College London, and the Royal Society for Public Health.

What is already happening

The Creating Cultures of Care consortium is mapping the educational landscape in the Netherlands. Their work will describe what programs already exist, and what is needed. 

Universities and universities of applied sciences are developing more modules and minors in arts in health. Arts in health projects and courses can be found in the visual arts, care ethics, nursing, spiritual care, and the medical humanities.

For educators and students

Arts in health needs people who are at home in two worlds. You do not need to know everything, but you are curious about all of it.

Thinking about studying arts in health?
Look for programmes that connect to care, art, or welfare. Nursing, arts education, or social studies are good starting points. From there, you can go deeper into areas of arts in health that are of special interest to you.

Do you teach or develop programmes?
Arts in health is interdisciplinary. It needs collaboration between arts and healthcare educators. Help students learn to work safely with vulnerable people, and learn about self-care from the start.

Read more and get involved

• Books about Arts in Health
• Website Vaktherapie Nederland
• Culture for Health and Well-being Compendium
• Arts Council Ireland, Arts in Health Handbook

Want to contribute to the development of arts in health education in the Netherlands? The alliance is coming. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed.

What policy needs to do

Arts in Health sits at the intersection of healthcare, culture, and social welfare. But its place in policy is still emerging. What is needed is for healthcare and welfare systems to recognise the role the arts can play in making care more human. Key questions include:

• How can successful programmes continue beyond the pilot phase?
• How can the role of the arts be secured within the current transformation of healthcare?
• How can barriers to collaboration between healthcare, culture, and social welfare be removed, at both local and national levels?
• How can Arts in Health contribute to the challenges facing healthcare today?

What is already happening

In the Netherlands, ZonMw, the Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie, and programmes like Welzijn op Recept, are working to develop Arts in Health further. The municipality of Tilburg actively supports collaboration between artists and care organisations. Provincial arts organisations are exploring how Arts in Health can contribute to health and prevention at a regional level. And at European level, the EU Commission recognises Arts in Health as part of the future of healthcare.

For policymakers and partners

Do you work on policy in healthcare, culture, or welfare? You can contribute by making connections and creating space for collaboration. Arts in Health does not need a new system. It needs a place within the system as it evolves.

Read more and get involved

• Books about Arts in Health
• Academic magazines
• Rapport: next steps for the Arts in Health Network

Want to contribute to the development of Arts in Health in the Netherlands? The alliance is coming. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed.

Institutions Offering Art Programmes

The arts and culture are an ongoing part of programming for AxionContinu’s clients in the Utrecht area. In addition to an extensive music programme — including a choir and the popular “apple pie concerts” — residents can take part in numerous cultural  activities such as the Museum on Friday program. AxionContinu also collaborates with students from the Utrecht University of the Arts (HKU) on We Heart Society, in which music students and residents create new songs together.

Vitalis (Eindhoven region) also offers a rich arts programme. The theatre project Trotse kameraden (“Proud Companions”) brings together residents, young people and local neighbourhood members to create a performance. Furthermore, there is AtelierSkon, a working place where care home residents, neighbours and other interested people upcycle cast-off  materials to make beautiful arts and crafts.

In Amsterdam, Cordaan provides care for people with intellectual disabilities, and also for older adults living with dementia. Cordaan’s Art in Care program focuses on improving quality of life, for example with the ambulant kunstteam (mobile art team) in which visual artists, writers, dancers and others use creativity to engage with Cordaan clients in the community, for example by visiting a museum together or making an artwork. Cordaan’s Mulltimedia digitale kunst (Digital Multimedia Art) program brings artists and people with intellectual disabilities together, to practice  photography, filmmaking and graphic design. 

Organisations Offering Art Activities

Dance

Dans op Recept (Northern Netherlands and Limburg) provides classes and workshops in creative movement and dance for older adults and people with chronic conditions, often within residential care settings. Dans op Recept  also trains care professionals to  integrate dance into their work. The dance company Leefmeesters, a part of Dans op Recept, creates dance pieces for public performance, in which professional dancers collaborate with people living with chronic illnesses.

Meerdandans (North Holland) offers dance lessons for people with Parkinson’s disease and acquired brain injury. Requests from other regions are referred to teachers within their network.

Het Huiskamerdanspaleis (Living Room Dance Palace) organises dance ‘moments’ for adults with dementia in their own, warmly decorated, surrounding. Instructors are present to guide participants. The work of Het Huiskamerdanspaleis also includes a special program for fall prevention: Het Danspaleis Valpreventie.

Even when they do not aim to produce therapeutic outcomes, participatory arts programs can provide positive support for wellbeing. Marc Vlemmix Dance offers creative movement classes for people living with MS, rheumatism and Parkinson’s. Participants are prepared for creative movement by teachers who help people with chronic conditions to build strength, balance and flexibility. 

Switch2Move combines music and movement for people with Parkinson's disease, dementia, MS or other chronic illnesses. People can join the lessons in the regions of Amsterdam, Tilburg and Den Bosch. People who are not able to leave their homes can join the dance lessons through video recordings.

Theatre

Theatre Veder performs shows in care homes, especially for demented elderly people, and using the Veder Contactmethode. In their performances, artists use poetry, music and theater to engage the long term memory of participants. Staff at  Theatre Veder also train care professionals to use  the Veder Contactmethode to improve communication with clients.

Cliniclowns is the longest-running Arts in Health program in the Netherlands, with ongoing programs in nearly every hospital in the country. Cliniclowns’ highly trained professional performers use play and music to engage children and healthcare staff find a sense of fun even in tense care environments. Cliniclowns has also developed a successful program for adults living with dementia. 

Visual Arts & Museums

Many museums have special programs at the intersection of art, healthcare, and well-being, see for example the Museum van de Geest, Rijksmuseum and Mauritshuis. For more information, you can also contact the Museum Association.

There are also initiatives that older adults with health issues to experience visual art in a meaningful way, such as the MuseumPlusBus. The program brings traveling exhibitions of high-quality reproductions to care homes. The program also arranges  transport that brings elderly people to museums.

KOO (The Hague) uses multiple arts strategies  to engage   elderly people living with chronic illnesses. Kleurenparade  is a series of five workshops that introduce seniors to a variety of art forms. During the creative activities, participants are encouraged to discuss their experiences and inspirations. Kunstknuffel uses  creative activities to “encourage meaningful artistic experiences where memories can take shape.”  All activities are guided by specially trained instructors.

Amphion Cultuurbedrijf is part of the programme Long Live Art, which offers a wide range of activities for residents of care facilities in the Achterhoek region. Their Cultuur met zorg (Culture with Care) program places resident artists in care centers, leading  small-scale activities such as felting, dancing and photography, and theatre. 

What Does the Science Say?

In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) published an extensive review of research regarding the impact of  the arts on well-being. 30+ years of research on Arts in Health supports a compelling argument  that the arts support wellbeing.

A selection of the findings:

• Stroke rehabilitation: Dance improves muscle strength, posture and balance, and may stimulate memory and executive function.
• Parkinson’s disease and MS: Dance strengthens muscles and improves posture, mobility and quality of life.
• Psychogeriatrics: Drama activities improve contact between residents and care staff. Dance appeared to have a positive effect on speech. Literary activities can improve memory, listening skills and attention in people with dementia, and also reduce feelings of loneliness and social isolation.
• Palliative care: Art activities improve physical and psychological well-being and support conversations about illness and end-of-life.
• Anxiety and depression: Art can reduce feelings of anxiety and depressive symptoms related to illness, such as cancer.
  
  

Research programs in the Netherlands

The Dutch Ministries of Education, Culture & Science (OCW) and Health, Welfare & Sport (VWS) collaborate with Stichting RCOAK, Fonds Sluyterman Van Loo in the programme Arts and Culture in Long-Term Care and Support.  One of the goals is to map existing art initiatives in order to identify the success factors that contribute to an effective and sustainable offer. Amsterdam UMC and the Leyden Academy on Vitality and Ageing also joined forces in an Art in Health program to research the value of art in long-term care by describing existing art initiatives and evaluating their impact.

Do arts interventions and creative engagement really make a difference in our lives and our brains? Recently, Susan Magsamen, the author of Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us, and Director of The International Arts and Mind Lab at John Hopkins University School of Medicine, was interviewed to discuss this exact question.

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This episode of When Science Finds a Way explores the science behind the arts as a tool for wellbeing, from research on singing to lived stories of healing and empowerment. In 40 minutes, we hear from leading scholar Daisy Fancourt, from a mother who participated in Breathe Melodies for Mums, and from the ever-inspiring artist Kunle Adewale. 

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KoffieCo | Koffie bij de coassistent is de podcast voor en door studenten Medische Wetenschappen van het UMC Utrecht.

Gewapend met een kop koffie gaan coassistenten Tessa, Tiara en Doris het hele land door om artsen te interviewen. In deze aflevering gaan ze in gesprek met Daphne Voormolen, foetaal geneeskundige en groot kunstliefhebber, over de door haar zelf opgezette Stichting Kunst Salon en haar boodschap over hoe waardevol het is om de link te leggen tussen gezondheidszorg en de culturele sector en kunst in te zetten voor het medisch onderwijs, behandeling en gezondheid en welzijn in het algemeen.

Aflevering 127: Kunst in de zorg

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Podcastserie Amsterdam UMC | Waarom kunst in het ziekenhuis?  
9 afleveringen

Waarom raakt een kunstwerk je als je in het ziekenhuis bent, kan een gedicht je tot tranen roeren, troost muziek of roept een verhaal fijne herinneringen op? Word je een betere dokter als je naar kunst kijkt? Waarom wil een kunstenaar graag een werk voor het ziekenhuis maken? En waarom betrekken wetenschappers kunst in hun onderzoek? Ook na een lange loopbaan als curator in het Amsterdam UMC kon Sabrina Kamstra lang niet al die vragen zelf beantwoorden. Daarom vroeg ze patiënten, kunstenaars, curatoren, artsen, wetenschappers en studenten te reageren vanuit hun eigen invalshoek en achtergrond. Dit monde uit in het boek Waarom kunst in het ziekenhuis? met essays van verschillende auteurs en hun reflecties in de gelijknamige podcastserie.

In deze podcastserie komen patiënten, medewerkers, bezoekers en kunstenaars aan het woord. De geselecteerde kunstenaars hebben allen in opdracht een werk voor het Amsterdam UMC gemaakt.

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Kunststof aflevering - NTR - NPO Radio 1
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Neuroloog en expert op het gebied van de ziekte van Parkinson, Bas Bloem, gaat in gesprek met hoogleraar ouderenparticipatie, Tineke Abma, over de heilzame werking van kunst op onze gezondheid. Het onderzoek naar kunst-als-medicijn heeft de laatste jaren een enorme boost gekregen. Nu is het volgens Abma tijd om kunst een veel grotere plek toe te kennen in de medische opleiding, in de spreekkamer en in zorginstellingen. Maar hoe?

Kunststof aflevering

London Arts and Health | 6 episodes on social prescribing
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The series from London Arts and Health uncovers arts in health practices across the city of London, speaking to practitioners, funders, artists and participants about how they are working and benefitting from arts and health. The podcast has been created to celebrate the launch of the Arts and Culture: Social Prescribing Myth Buster. The myth buster aims to help everyone understand the role of arts and culture in social prescribing.

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Creative Health Stories | 20 episodes

This series conveys what ‘creative health’ means to different people and in different contexts; how creativity helps to keep us well at a general, preventative level and how it supports chronic and long term health conditions. It highlights creative practices – professional, amateur and those we can do at home – which are helping to keep us well, and what needs to happen so that creativity, the arts and culture are more widely accessible.

This podcast series consists of interviews with professionals and scholars about their arts in health projects, findings, and experiences. The series also takes on the larger policy and ethical issues of arts in health, for example during the July 2024 episode in which Sir Michael Marmot was interviewed. Sir Michael discussed his work on the social determinants of health, and explains his argument that health equality requires creativity be available to everyone.

Listen to the podcast series

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The Arts for the Health of it podcast features more than 90 episodes.

Why do humans turn to the arts in times of crisis? How do the arts impact our health and well-being? What role do the arts play in the future of society?
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Hosts Catherine Particini and Andrea Sanderson (VOCAB) help you integrate the arts into everyday health and wellness practices through information, tips, how-to’s, and expert-led interviews on the subject.

The show explores the role of the arts in society, with special attention to the function of the arts in wellbeing. In one episode you might hear a lighthearted discussion about the health benefits of laughter; another introduces you to a local programme that brings artists together for community projects. Especially if you want to learn more about projects in America, or you are interested in the workings of ‘arts on prescription’ programmes for instance, then this show is for you!

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In this documentary, healthcare professionals, artists, researchers and organisations share how the arts contribute to health and wellbeing in practice. The film explores how Arts in Health brings together healthcare, wellbeing and culture at a local level.

More than thirty years of international research shows that the arts can contribute to health and wellbeing. It can help prevent illness, strengthen social connection and improve quality of life.

More information: Arts in Health Netherlands

In this TEDx talk, Jill Sonke explores the relationship between creativity and care. As a practitioner, and current Director of the Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida, Sonke brings nearly three decades of experience to describing the impact of artistic expression on wellbeing. Using many engaging examples, she masterfully lays out the case for the introduction of the arts in healthcare. Dancing, live-music, and powerful anecdotes are followed up by straightforward summaries of the evidence for arts in health.

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This BBC News report interviews a patient at the Bethlem Royal Hospital psychiatric institution, about the art collection made by patients. The interviewee explores how drawing helps the patient to express themselves, and even points the way toward the end of treatment. "What arts does is give somebody free reign just to go into themselves and say this is what's like for me".

The Bethlem Royal Hospital continues to use art-making activities and hosts its own art gallery now too. The art gallery connects professional artists with patients and patients with art.

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One critique of arts in health research is that study sample sizes are too small, and so cannot represent a broader population. In this video, Daisy Fancourt, a leading scholar in the field, discusses her large-scale quantitative study of a range of effects of arts engagement on wellbeing. Her team’s longitudinal analysis of national data showed improved mental, physical and cognitive outcomes.

This short and informative video from the UK discusses several arts in health projects, and research about the relationship between singing and mental wellbeing. The video features the experience of people with Parkinson’s disease who are part of a project that brings them on museum visits. The video includes clips from a music and movement workshop for people with Parkinson’s. We see them singing and dancing, and exploring what they can do rather than what illness prevents them from doing.