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Pilot | Arts in Health at UMCG

Five artists collaborate with UMCG staff on participatory, care-focused art projects
Since February 2025, five artists have been working with the medical centre staff on participatory, care-focused art projects in different departments of the University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG). The artists’ aim is to co-create participatory art projects to support the wellbeing of staff. The project reflects the UMCG’s core value, See the person (Zie de mens).
The pilot is an initiative of Arts in Health Netherlands in collaboration with UMCG and theatre company PeerGroup.
Why this pilot?
Arts in Health is a growing field in which trained artists use creative methods to contribute to the wellbeing of healthcare workers and patients, and to promote healthy living. Arts in Health does not replace care, but supports it.
This pilot focuses on healthcare staff, in response to the pressures of modern healthcare—workload, technological focus, and compassion fatigue—the projects aim to create space for connection, inspiration, and to develop meaning in the work environment.
Five artists, five departments
Arts in Health Netherlands worked with five UMCG departments to recruit and train five artists with part of five departments for a period of five months:
- Morgan Ton, multidisciplinary artist & filmmaker → Beatrix Children’s Hospital
- Anne Varekamp, spatial designer & visual artist → Communication & Marketing
- Emma Berentsen, performance-maker & dramaturg → Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery
- Eva Koopmans, relational artist & designer → Spiritual Care
- Wiesje Gunnink, artist & arts educator → Orthopedics
Pilot phases
During Phase 1 (February–July 2025), artists got to know the staff of their UMCG department, exploring ideas and building connections with creative activities. Together, the artists and staff developed creative projects that reflect the unique context and culture of each department.
Phase 2 started in (October–November 2025). During this phase, the focus will shift to deepening and presenting the experience of art-making and ‘seeing the person’.
Throughout both phases, the artists, programme makers, coordinator, and researchers have met regularly in a learning community. These sessions provided space for reflection, peer support, and shared learning. At the same time, researchers were collecting and analyzing data to evaluate the pilot's process and impact.
Adrenaline
The second phase included the development of Adrenaline, an interactive audiowalk created in collaboration with Peergroup. Adrenaline brings together creative outcomes from the participating departments and translates the pilot’s themes into a shared, public format. Wearing headphones, visitors move individually through the UMCG and enter spaces that are normally closed to the public. During the walk, the hospital itself functions as a narrative voice, drawing on stories and experiences of staff, patients, and policymakers. In this way, the audiowalk further develops the theme See the person and offers a reflective perspective on care, work, and daily life within a medical centre.
Adrenaline can be experienced at the UMCG from 25 February to 22 March. Tickets are now available.
The audiowalk will be presented alongside the pilot’s evaluation and final report.

Pilot Team
The pilot is led by programme makers Kirsten Krans & Dirk Bruinsma, researcher and trainer Ferdinand Lewis, pilot coordinator and researcher Nina van den Berg, and student assistant Twan Tromp.
Steering Committee
Strategic guidance and supervision are provided by the UMCG steering committee, chaired by Michiel Kahmann. Members: Barbara van Leeuwen, Hanneke van der Wal-Huisman, Jaap Tulleken, Bertrand de Jong, Edwina Doting, Joke Fleer, and Mark Dessing.
Pilot Partners
UMCG, University of Groningen, Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, Peergroup, and Nationaal Programma Groningen.
Pilot | Buur & Boek: Exploring Connection Through Literature

Buur & Boek is a pilot project by NOORDWOORD and Arts in Health Groningen, focused on the joy of reading and writing in the hearts of four local communities. From October 2025 to March 2026, residents from different neighbourhoods and villages across the province of Groningen come together with trained group leaders, to read, write, talk, and reflect on short stories, poems and novels.
The goal of the project is to use reading and writing to inspire connection and care in the communities, and encouraging new groups to form. The five groups meet bi-weekly in the Korrewegwijk, Beijum, Finsterwolde, Noordlaren en Feerwerd. The groups are guided by four workshop leaders who each bring their own unique background and approach to creative reading and writing. No previous literary experience or nor is preparation necessary to join the groups. Participants from a wide variety of backgrounds join in experiencing ‘shared reading’, creative writing, deep listening, and reflective conversations.
Arts in Health Netherlands leads a bi-weekly learning community to support the four group leaders and project coordinator. The learning community involves peer discussion, reflection, planning, and coaching as needed. The group also discusses scientific literature on the health benefits of reading and writing, to inform practice. Self-care is also addressed, and the ethics of community-based work.
The project creates space for community members to meet one another in new ways. Reading and writing become starting points for reflective conversations, deep attention, and sharing inspiration. Along the way, social connections are built or strengthened. “We meet with neighbours to talk about life through literature and poetry,” one of the workshop leaders explains. “We read and talk, and if people wish, also create. Everything is allowed, nothing is required.” Another workshop leader adds, “It is not about having the same opinion, but about daring to speak and to listen.”
The four workshop leaders, Charlotte Beerda, Gemma Jissink, Lieke van den Krommenacker and Willemijn van de Walle, each bring their own background in literature, performance and community work. Want to know more about who they are?
At the end of the pilot project, each group will have the opportunity to share what they have created or discovered at a ‘mini-festival’ in each of the four communities. Some may present poems or short stories, others may simply celebrate the conversations and connections that have formed.
For Arts in Health Groningen, Buur & Boek is part of a broader programme of using the arts to encourage reflection, dialogue, and social connection in support of well-being. By creating spaces where people can meet around shared curiosity and creativity, Buur & Boek helps build a sense of community and imagination in daily life.
Participation in Buur & Boek is free of charge. The project runs from October 2025 to March 2026 and is organised by NOORWOORD in collaboration with Arts in Health Groningen and local partners in each of the four communities.
Want to learn more about research literature and well-being?

The effects of reading on wellbeing have been investigated for decades by researchers from the humanities, social sciences and health sciences. Findings suggest that reading is not only a source of knowledge and entertainment, but also contributes to psychological and social health. Reading fiction is often described as a form of mental simulation that exercises social cognition, empathy, and Theory of Mind [1, 2]. These contribute to people's social and psychological wellbeing. For such effects on wellbeing, it is important that people engage with, and reflect on, what they read [3]. Inspired by such research, shared reading programmes have been used to reduce loneliness, start conversations and strengthen the sense of belonging, especially among people from different backgrounds or generations [e.g. 4; 5].
Expressive and reflective writing—such as diaries, short stories, or letters—can improve both mental and physical health as research in psychology and the health sciences highlights [6, 7, 8]. There is even evidence that points to writing reducing depressive [9] and PTS(D) symptoms [10] and that it allows people to better deal with grief [11]. For writing workshops to support wellbeing, it is important to create a trusting environment[12].
References:
- Dodell-Feder, D., & Tamir, D. I. (2018). Fiction reading has a small positive impact on social cognition: A meta-analysis. Journal of experimental psychology. General, 147(11), 1713–1727. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000395
- Oatley K. (2016). Fiction: Simulation of Social Worlds. Trends in cognitive sciences, 20(8), 618–628. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.06.002
- Carney, J., & Robertson, C. (2022). Five studies evaluating the impact on mental health and mood of recalling, reading, and discussing fiction. PLoS ONE, 17(4), e0266323. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266323
- Billington, J., Carroll, J., Davis, P., Healey, C., & Kinderman, P. (2013). A literature-based intervention for older people living with dementia. Perspectives in Public Health, 136(3), 139–146. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913912470052
- Longden, E., Davis, P., Carroll, J., Billington, J., & Kinderman, P. (2015). Shared reading: Assessing the intrinsic value of literature. Medical Humanities, 41(2), 113–120. https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2015-010704
- Valtonen J. (2021). The Health Benefits of Autobiographical Writing: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. The Journal of medical humanities, 42(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-020-09631-9
- Pennebaker, J. W., & Seagal, J. D. (1999). Forming a story: the health benefits of narrative. Journal of clinical psychology, 55(10), 1243–1254. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199910)55:10<1243::AID-JCLP6>3.0.CO;2-N
- Toepfer, S. M., & Walker, K. (2009). Letters of gratitude: Improving well-being through expressive writing. Journal of Writing Research, 1(3), 181-198. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2009.01.03.1
- Reinhold, M., Bürkner, P.-C., & Holling, H. (2018). Effects of expressive writing on depressive symptoms: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 25, e12224. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12224
- Pavlacic, J. M., Buchanan, E. M., Maxwell, N. P., Hopke, T. G., & Schulenberg, S. E. (2019). A meta-analysis of expressive writing on posttraumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, and quality of life. Review of General Psychology, 23(2), 230–250. https://doi.org/10.1177/1089268019831645
- Den Elzen, K., Neimeyer, R. A., & Lengelle, R. (Eds.). (2024). Living with loss: From grief to wellbeing (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003460657
- Wiltshire, K. (2022). Using the short story as a tool for well-being in arts and health workshops for the NHS staff. Short Fiction in Theory & Practice, 12 (The Health of the Short Story: Part 2), 203–218. https://doi.org/10.1386/fict_00062_1
Pilot | Meet the artists of Buur & Boek

Willemijn van de Walle | Korrewegwijk

On community: “The group in Korrewegwijk reflects the city: diverse, multilingual and constantly changing. Participants vary in age and background, and bring different relationships to reading and language. Differences are present and openly discussed. Questions raised by the literature — such as where someone really comes from — often open up conversations in which multiple viewpoints exist alongside one another.”
On safe space: “Among the participants there is a willingness to go beyond the surface. When one member speaks openly, others follow. Through small, attentive gestures — sharing tea, listening without interruption — a safe space develops where personal stories can be told.”
On connection: “Meeting on Tuesday evenings, the group is a place for people to pause together. People come looking for calm and connection. Together, we use literature and poetry to help focus our attention, and to support moments of genuine encounter.”
Gemma Jissink | Noordlaren

On common interests: “Noordlaren has many overlapping networks. Buur & Boek has added another one: a group of people who connect through their common interest in stories and poems, and their curiosity and willingness to explore together.”
On engagement: “Many of the participants already know one another, but reading and discussing stories and poems creates a new kind of closeness. This closeness is valuable, and at the same time the atmosphere must also remain open and light. People feel involved in the practical aspects of the project, and also in the content, so they stay engaged.”
On shared experience: “In this group, literature is a shared experience for us. Stories and personal reflections continue to emerge and surprise all of us—including me, as the facilitator.”
Lieke van den Krommenacker | Beijum – Feerwerd
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On everyday life: “We have a small group of very committed readers who meet regularly. Ages range from early thirties to late seventies. Short stories and poetry provided the starting point for this group, but our conversations now move easily between discussing literature and everyday life.”
On sharing: “Over time, our relationships have deepened. Participants begin to share more of themselves, they exchange books, they offer reading suggestions to each other. Some of our members have started writing, which they share with the group.”
On care: “After a few meetings, you can see a sense of care emerging in the group. Through shared attention and working together, the group has developed a kind of togetherness, and it becomes more meaningful the more we read and reflect together.”.
Charlotte Beerda | Finsterwolde

On knowing each other: “Many of the participants in the Finsterwolde group have known each other for years. The group is warm, and also has a certain reserve. Personal sharing unfolds slowly, and humour is important in this group, and laughter is common.”
On vulnerability: “Vulnerability is not something we aim for in the group, but rather the point is being together and sharing. Trust is more felt than spoken in the group, it is in the atmosphere, and in all the ways they are patient, attentive and appreciative of each other.”
On the unexpected: “Unexpected moments arise: someone shares a poem, or two married people discover they have both started writing, but without the other realising it. These wonderful moments are met with caring and gradually more space opens for writing and sharing, guided by the rhythm of the group.”
Next stept for Arts in Health Netherlands network
Awarded an OCW subsidy, the Arts in Health Netherlands network takes the next step toward giving art a permanent place in Dutch healthcare.
Thanks in part to a grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, a national network of partners has joined forces to structurally integrate arts and culture into the Dutch healthcare and welfare sector. The financial support enables the network to begin realizing the ambitions outlined in the white paper, Arts in Health in the Netherlands: A Nationala Agenda.
"This is what we've been working towards for years," says Kirsten Krans, a founding member of Arts in Health Netherlands. "It's wonderful to be able to take the next step together to structurally integrate arts and culture into our healthcare system." The national agenda of Arts in Health Netherlands aligns with the transition from cure to care, with a focus on person-centered care and positive health.
National network
The national network brings together a unique coalition of organizations from healthcare, social welfare, arts and culture, education, and research.
Representatives from organizations include Kunsten '92, the University Medical Center Groningen, Codarts, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the National Knowledge Centre for Cultural Education and Amateur Arts (LKCA) , AxionContinu, Kunstloc Brabant, ROC Amsterdam, the Municipality ofTilburg, Vilans, Cultuur Oost, Raad van Twaalf, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, the University of Groningen, and the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health.
Four pillars and intersectoral collaboration
At a launch meeting on November 28th 2025, the focus was on developing a shared vision for the future of the field. The diverse range of experts involved—from healthcare professionals and artists to researchers and policymakers––will support the ‘four pillars’ of the Arts inHealth field in the Netherlands: policy, practice, education, and research.
The participants particularly emphasized the need for intersectoral collaboration between health and culture. As the healthcare sector transitions toward more human and compassionate care, and the cultural sector argues for greater social relevance for the arts, the Arts in Health Netherlands network will help to strengthen both sectors and build bridges between them.
Four work packages
The network’s long-range goal is to sustainably embed the arts in our national healthcare system. To accomplish this, four work packages have been created to address each of the four goals of the national agenda (policy, practice, education, and research). The work packages will: establish a national knowledge platform; define professional competencies and a training network; formulate policy to promote Arts in Health; and establish a national research agenda for the field.
Join the network
Organizations interested in joining the national Arts in Health network can contact: info@artsinhealth.nl
Arts in Health Summer School

The Summer School introduces students to the emerging field of arts in health, and how it uses creative practices to provide care, support wellbeing, and encourage healthy living. Students experience the theory, practice, and ethics of using the arts to support care and wellbeing.
“The Summer School brings together a diverse group of people, to build a common understanding of how arts is health works,” says Ferdinand Lewis, director of education for Arts in Health Groningen (AiHG). “They leave the School as a community of learners, ready to explore how they might want to contribute to the field.”
The week-long Summer School is designed for people at different points in their careers, and is open to mid-career graduates of MBO, HBO, and universities, as well as current students at any of those institutions. “Establishing a permanent place for the arts in our healthcare system will require professionals who can work across sectors, disciplines and traditional roles,” Lewis says.
The Summer School introduces students to the scientific research on how the arts are being used to re-humanise the health professions, to support wellness and recovery, and to encourage healthy living. The curriculum includes an innovative pedagogical approach that integrates the learning of theory and practice together in a unique workshop setting. “Students are immersed in the practice of arts in health right away,” Lewis explains, “while they are also learning the science and theory that explains the field. They follow up on those experiences with structured reflection, to integrate experience and knowledge”.
Each student is encouraged to formulate their own goals for working in the field. The School’s unique teaching-learning strategy, plus the wide diversity of backgrounds among the students, means that each graduate takes away their own set of tools, ideas, and inspirations. One graduate reported, “For me it was about getting to know what is out there in the field”, while in contrast, another student in the same cohort said that she learned how to work in the field of art in health, and to organise her own programmes.
Finally, all of the teaching and learning in the Arts in Health Summer School occurs in a community of people exploring their common passion for this exciting new field. Students who complete the School can receive an official ‘digital credential’ from the University of Groningen to use on CV’s. They also have the opportunity to join Arts in Health Learning Community, especially for former Summer School students, which meets every six weeks to share knowledge, discuss current issues, and build a network across the Netherlands and EU.
Development of the Summer School
The Summer School was first piloted in June of 2023. AiHG’s program director Kirsten Krans said, “We made 15 spaces available for students, and all of them were filled right away. So many people want to learn how the arts can support care in hospitals, long-term care, and in our communities!”
Since that 2023 pilot program, the Summer School has quickly evolved. In 2024, AiHG was awarded support from the University of Groningen to develop a formal summer school curriculum. AiHG partnered with the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, University College Groningen, Prins Claus Conservatorium; the Faculty of Religion, Culture & Society at the University of Groningen; the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: and the University of Hamburg for the 2024 Summer School. Enrollment was increased to 25, for which the Summer School received more than 50 applications in 2024 and 2025. Accepted students included visual and performance artists, medical doctors, social workers, university assistant professors, undergraduate students, administrators, and policy makers. Lewis says, “In the Netherlands and EU, the Arts in Health field needs people from a variety of backgrounds, all learning and working together. The Summer School was created to facilitate that”.
Learn more

Pilot | Meet the artists at UMCG
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Wiesje Gunnink, visual artist | Orthopedics department
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“At first, the hospital felt like an overwhelming maze. I began by observing, getting to know staff, and finding moments for art breaks. Some weren’t keen to make art yet I soon felt welcome, especially among the doctors, whose openness encouraged collaboration. Working with healthcare staff felt like finding a missing puzzle piece, connecting my artistic practice with my background in a family of care workers. I translated my experiences into poems and visual works, discovering parallels between art and care, such as precision, repetition, and dedication. Together we created by drawing lines without looking, pulling threads, cutting, gluing, and reflecting on how the past, present, and future meet in care”
Emma Berentsen, performance artist | Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary surgery department
“At the start of the project, I shadowed different people from the HPB department, from observing liver transplants to joining nurses in their patient meetings. I quickly learned how flexible everyone had to be with their time and decided to claim ten minutes in the weekly team meetings for my own artistic moments, which I called Emma’s Dilemmas. Finding time and space for art wasn’t always easy, and in the beginning, I sometimes felt unnecessary among people with “real” jobs. But as I grew closer to the team, I felt more at ease. Watching a liver transplantation struck me as an artwork in itself, the precision, rhythm, and silent collaboration between surgeons almost felt like a choreography. Seeing everyone create blackout poems together was one of the highlights of the project. In those moments, I noticed small signs of connection and vulnerability as people revealed something of themselves beyond their professional roles.”
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Eva Koopmans, relational artist and designer | Spiritual Care department
“Chaplains occupy a unique position in the hospital: one of great freedom and of deep attentiveness to the humanity of each patient. Initially, I had expected to accompany them during patient visits, but for privacy reasons that wasn’t possible. This felt limiting at first but then became a source of inspiration. I realized that their work often goes unnoticed within the hospital structure, they are literally and figuratively invisible. Once, I even went on a small quest through the hospital to find their workspace, only to discover that few people knew where it was. That invisibility became central to the project: how could we make their work visible and tangible? We are now creating an artistic representation of the safe space they build with patients—a space where everything can be said and nothing has to be solved. I’ve come to feel at home within the hospital, part of a team whose quiet presence spreads like ink in water”
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Morgan Ton, visual artist and filmmaker | Beatrix Children’s Hospital

“I began by shadowing nurses, physicians, and palliative care professionals to understand their workload, rhythms, and perspectives on care. This helped me shape an arts-based project that would not interfere with their routines and could unfold through their own initiative. My aim was to bring a sense of playfulness and enjoyment into their busy workday. What truly struck me was how strict many staff members were about their own creativity. So in the first activity, I invited them to draw themselves, or a colleague, as a child might: using bright colours and imagination, creating space for art that did not need to be ‘perfect’. The drawings that emerged were surprising and full of play. This activity also sparked curiosity about how patients perceive their caregivers. That led to a second assignment in which staff asked patients to draw them. I was often present during these drawing moments, and it was moving to see how such a simple request created moments of connection, distraction, and joy. It encouraged caregivers to sit with patients without a medical reason, and to experience a shift in roles by becoming the ones observed.”
Anne Varekamp, designer and visual artist | Marketing and Communication Department
“In the communications department, I’ve been exploring how creativity can ease work pressure without disrupting daily routines. We found that short, pre-planned creative sessions worked best. At first, many employees were hesitant, saying things like “I can’t do this,” but by the end of the sessions, their attitudes often shifted completely. These workshops became moments of connection, and word soon spread that they were fun, relaxing, and a great way to meet colleagues from other teams within the same department. Often staff felt too busy or didn’t see the value at first, but over time, curiosity drew more people in. The process took patience as I was keen on letting it happen organically. For me, the conversations during the workshops were the most powerful aspect. People felt safe enough to open up, not only about work, but also about personal things. And for me as an artist, it was deeply rewarding to see participants surprise themselves with their own creativity.”

Music for Health
Arts in health professionals use a variety of approaches to support the wellbeing of healthcare patients and staff, in hospitals and also in long-term care facilities. This might include anything from listening to recordings to a live performance at a patient’s bedside, or getting staff and families to sing and play along, and even improvising new music with patients and families.
In hospitals
Music for health projects are enhancing the well-being of patients and staff in hospitals around the Netherlands. For instance, the Boedijn music school and Dijklander Hospital are collaborating on a multi-year partnership called Muziekmaatjes (Music Buddies), using live music to create moments of relaxation, escape, and joy, among pediatric patients and their parents. Another initiative specifically designed for children is "De Liedjesfabriek’" (The Song Factory), in which children write their own songs under the guidance of a music professional. Children from all over The Netherlands get to write and record their own song on the topic they choose and in the style of music they want.
Music for health can even be found in hospital intensive care units. One example of this is the organisation MuzIC that works with interested hospitals throughout The Netherlands, supporting the recovery of patients, which can minimize the health impacts of an ICU stay. Also the organisation ‘Muziek aan bed’ (Music at the bedside) provides musical interventions on all hospital wards.

Outside the hospital
Music in health is also found in rehabilitation centers and hospices. For example, the organization Muziek aan Bed brings live music to people living with dementia in nursing homes through its Muziek aan tafel (Music at the Table) program, where everyone sings along, conducts, or moves. Professional Arts in Health organizations such as Mimic and Embrace Nederland encourage music-making in institutions as well as in private homes. Embrace Nederland also works to build social cohesion in the social domain, for example, with its "Slagkracht" project. Both Embrace Nederland and Mimic provide workshops for healthcare professionals and informal caregivers, teaching them to incorporate music into their daily interactions with patients and families.

What the science says
There is evidence that music contributes to recovery from illness, reducing pain, stress, anxiety, and depression. There are even indications that music can positively influence the immune system's responses.
In private homes, music in health professionals provide real support for people living with neurological conditions such as stroke, Parkinson's disease, or dementia.
Music appears to have positive effects on people with neurological disorders, activating the areas of the brain involved in thinking, feeling, movement, and emotion.
Research suggests that music can be a powerful tool to support the wellbeing of healthcare professionals and informal caregivers, by encouraging relaxation, building social connection, and helping staff to reflect on their work in new ways.
A study by Mimic suggests that music leads to stronger, positive contacts between patients and nurses, as well as an increase in compassion in nurses.
Professors Dick Swaab and Erik Scherder gave a lecture on Music and the Brain, which beautifully explains the positive health effects of music.
Organizations in the Netherlands in the field of Music in Health
There are many more organizations offering music in health services in hospitals, long-term care, and the social domain. Below is an overview:
- Bedside Buskers
- Muziekids
- Zingen in de Zorg
- Hier is Muziek!
- Muziek voor de Zorg
- Genetic choir
- REVA BEATS
- Stichting Muziek in Huis
- Zing mee in het Participatiekoor
- Bedside Singers – Zingen voor de ziel op reis)
- MuzIC
- Mimic muziek
- ThuisMuziekZorg
- De Liedjesfabriek
- Muziek Aan Bed
Academic journals | The interdisciplinary field
It is very important that research on arts in health is studied by scholars in other fields. Arts in health research is found in journals of medicine, social work, nursing, fine arts, community development, and others. Alongside that, we have our own interdisciplinary research identity, for example in two international, peer-reviewed journals publish specificallyl devoted to arts in health.
Arts & Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice
This peer-reviewed journal publishes international research from the arts in health field, including clinical studies on the health benefits of the arts as well as best practices, policy analysis, and investigations of institutional issues. The journal pays special attention to the transformative role that the arts can play in public health, community care, and clinical settings. The editorial board targets a diverse audience of international researchers, policy makers, artists, healthcare professionals, and community workers. Read here.
The Journal of Applied Arts & Health
Although this journal is supported by the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association, they use the term ‘arts & health’ very broadly to include therapeutic practice as well as non-therapeutic participatory arts, artistic research, and a range of other wellbeing-related arts studies. First published in 2010, this peer-reviewed journal publishes evaluations of programmes, as well as interdisciplinary issues, policy, and editorials. Read the journal here.