Benefits of Art on health and wellbeing
“The heart is where art thrives. Art is not designed to convince the rational mind. Science handles that. Art, at its most powerful, appeals to the emotions, as mythology does.”
[Steve Huston, ‘Figure drawing for artists’, 2016]
Several articles, books, and talks below discuss the positive effects of creating or being exposed to art on health, wellbeing, productivity, and innovation.
Please feel free to suggest additions to this resource in the comments section at the bottom of this page, or by contacting us directly.
Articles
Art in the workplace
According to a survey of 800 employees from 32 organizations, art has a positive influence on many of the challenges faced by organizations.
Being creative health benefits
Exposure to art and art-making boosts brain power and physical health (including immune system functioning, and hormonal and inflammation responses).
Art and cortisol levels
A study by University of Westminster has found that a brief lunchtime visit to an art gallery reduced cortisol levels of city workers in London, as well as their self-reported stress levels.
Books
Creating with others
(Shaun McNiff 2003). Creativity is not the exclusive province of “artistic types. As stated by the author himself: “the arts help us improve the way we interact with others (…), foster more open and original ways of perceiving situations and problems, gaining new insights and sensitivities toward others, and learning how the slipstream of group expression can carry us to places where we cannot go alone (…)”.
The art of creative thinking
Art of Creative Thinking reveals how we can transform ourselves, our businesses, and our society through a deeper understanding of human creativity.
Talks
TED Talk on “aha moments”
Matt Goldman is founder of Blue School, a school that balances academic mastery, creative thinking, and self and social intelligence. In this talk he argues that certain conditions can create “aha moments” — moments of surprise, learning and exuberance — frequent and intentional rather than random and occasional.
TED Talk on motivation
Dan Pink exposes the misalignment between what science states motivates workers and what business generally does. He focuses on the outdated modes of motivating staff and how creativity and innovation are hindered in many workplaces.