“Arts participation can do a very significant thing - it can
identify a problem and it can start to address it at the very same time.
I can't think of other interventions that can quite do that - arts have
that unique quality. They immediately open up dialogue between all of
the stakeholders in a problem within a community as to where a solution
and ways forward can be found."
Mike White, Senior Research Fellow in Arts in Health at the Centre for Medical Humanities (CMH) at Durham University.
Restoring the Balance: the effect of arts participation on wellbeing and health (March 2010)
is published by Voluntary Arts England. In addition to a
foreword from Minister for Culture and Tourism Margaret Hodge, the
publication includes contributions from former Minster for the Arts,
Lord Howarth; Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships
and Consumer Affairs, Kevin Brennan and the Department of Health's joint
lead on arts and health Professor Louis Appleby.
Additionally, people
from a wide range of backgrounds explain how their wellbeing, their
health and, in some cases, their lives have been transformed as a direct
result of arts participation. Details of the recently launched
Manifesto for Participation in the Arts and Crafts offer a model of best
practice, as do links to related reports, research and organisations.
To request a hard copy of Restoring the Balance please send a £5
cheque made payable to VOLUNTARY ARTS NETWORK to Voluntary Arts England,
PO Box 1056, Newcastle upon Tyne. NE99 1UE.
Alternatively you can
download a PDF version from http://www.vaengland.org.uk/cgi-bin/website.cgi?tier1=england&tier2=publications