2 Arts and Health: Good Practice International

2.1 WHO Collaborating Center for Arts and Health

An international research center

Edith Wolf Perez 

In October 2021, the WHO Collaborating Centre for Arts and Health opened at University College London (UCL). It is the only research center of its kind and builds on a previous four-year collaboration between UCL and the WHO Regional Office for Europe on arts and health, during which the Health Evidence Synthesis Report "What is the evidence of the role of the arts in improving health and well-being" was published.

The Collaboration Centre is working to analyze and disseminate data from longitudinal cohort studies on the long-term effects of arts and cultural engagement on mental and physical health and the mechanisms underlying these effects. It will also work with governments internationally to develop strategies that support the use of the arts to achieve global development goals, for example with projects such as 'Breathe Melodies for Mums'.

2.2 United Kingdom

The blueprint

Alexandra Coulter, Veronica Franklin Gould, Andrew McWilliams 

Women in the arts, health and politics have been pioneering arts and health in the UK since the beginning of this century and it has now become a global movement. In the UK, there are numerous projects, a robust evidence base and a lively debate about the role of the arts in health. In 2017, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing published the report: 'Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing', which has led to the establishment of a National Center for Creative Health as the hub of a network of key players in the health and cultural sector. Social Prescribing has promoted arts for health interventions at a local level. The Arts4Dementia organization has established a nationwide network and database of dementia-friendly events.

2.3 Finland

Art and culture in a changing social and healthcare system

Liisa Laitinen 

Currently in Finland, the perspective of arts and health is mainly considered in the context of preventive health promotion. In many municipalities, arts and culture have already been included in the municipal welfare report, which is a legal document, a tool for planning, evaluating and monitoring municipal welfare policy.

In terms of monitoring, one of the most important developments in recent years has been the inclusion of culture in an online service that describes and supports the planning and management of health and social promotion, including cultural activities, at local and regional level.

The arts and culture play an important role in the new implementation plan of the government resolution "Promoting Wellbeing, Health and Safety 2030", which was published in April 2021. For example, the plan promotes the introduction of participatory cultural practices at a national level and the use of arts and culture as part of mental health literacy. It also contains strict guidelines for the promotion and implementation of arts and health activities in collaboration with government agencies.

2.4 Denmark

With some references to Norway and Sweden

Dorothy Conaghan 

Within the Danish national referral framework, the continuous employment of music therapists in the hospice sector is a sustainable success.

In Norway, too, the national health authority recognizes and funds music therapy for the treatment of people with dementia. The recommendations are made by doctors and music therapists so that an effective process of patient care can be realized.

In contrast to project-based initiatives, these are examples of how the arts can be embedded in a healthcare system through genuine and equal partnership between artists and healthcare professionals.

2.5 The Netherlands

The example of the province of Fryslân (West Friesland)

Geke Walsma 

In the Netherlands, the national government provides the legal basis for the implementation of policy measures in the provinces and municipalities. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science do not yet have a joint policy to promote the integration of arts and culture in healthcare.

The role of provinces such as Fryslân (Friesland) in the field of culture is to promote the diversity and spread of cultural institutions in their region. However, the province's cultural policy (2017-2020) already explicitly states that culture, sport and education should be more closely linked to health and welfare. Initially, the focus was primarily on older people. In the cultural policy report entitled "New podium 2021-2024", the objectives for "culture in society" are no longer limited to older people. In Fryslân (Friesland), interventions in the field of art and health range from projects with high artistic value, in which cultural and health professionals work together equally, to smaller projects based on stronger local cooperation and with a focus on social participation.

2.6 Republic of Ireland

Arts and Health in line with the principle of subsidiarity

Dorothy Conaghan 

"Arts and Health programs are carried out in a number of health facilities in Ireland. The projects are mostly initiated by women artists and only take place when sufficient funding can be secured, usually from a variety of partners. There was no example or report of an Arts and Health project that was funded by either healthcare professionals and/or the group of people the project was aimed at.

A number of national policies recognize the link between arts and well-being and the value and benefits of such an overlap, but bridging the gap in policy implementation remains a challenge. Efforts to bridge this gap are reflected in RENEW, a partnership of four stakeholder organizations. However, this partnership is still at an early stage of its existence, so any impact on the development of a strategic approach to policy and implementation of arts and health in Ireland is yet to be seen.

2.7 Highlights from the USA

Arts and Health as a theme of the largest cultural institutions

Jennifer Davison 

Under the term "Arts in Health" or "Neuroarts", a dynamic process is underway in the United States and Canada that is leading to the emergence of a potentially transformative new field in the areas of art, health and well-being. Key players include the Longwood Symphony at Harvard University, an orchestra of female physicians and students with an accompanying program called "The Healing Art of Music"; the Shands Arts in Medicine Center at the University of Florida; "Healing Arts New York", a collaboration between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and New York University; or the "Sound Health Network", a partnership between the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Arts Endowment and soprano Renée Fleming, the Center's artistic advisor.