Art has been used as therapy for hundreds of years in clinical and other settings. However, how much does participation in the arts have a positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing?

Benefits of participatory art

Some of the main benefits of participating in art, as found by our Centre for Positive Ageing team in collaboration with research conducted by WHO 1  and the Baring Foundation 2 , include:

• Assisting older people to overcome social isolation by providing opportunities for friendship and support
• Improving mental wellbeing, confidence and self-esteem
• Helping people through periods of loss and bereavement
• Improvements in measures of physical health, such as functional ability, joint mobility and cardiovascular fitness, allowing older people to undertake increased levels of general daily activity
• Skill development in the creative arts
• Enjoyment and pleasure

Engaging with the arts can empower people in a way that complements rehabilitation. Through Arts on Prescription, research shown in the Sector Guide, highlights that the act of creating something tangible has a transformative effect on older people. Whether through visual art, music, artistic movement, photography – all art forms provided people with tools to express emotion, experience or thoughts in a way that they may not have had access to before. The artists help to give people these tools, partnering with them to bring the positive changes that they want to see in their own lives.