Arts and Health

A version of this essay will be published in the June/July edition of the Grantmakers in Health (GIH) bulletin, aligning with this year’s GIH annual conference on June 12-14, at which GIA will present the work of the Center for Arts in Medicine at University of Florida, The Kresge Foundation, and artist collective Harriet’s Apothecary.

The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund awarded $1.5 million NYC Health + Hospitals and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City to launch the Arts in Medicine program, which seeks to expand programs serving health care staff, patients, and communities across the city.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock unveiled this month an initiative that may soon enable the country’s doctors to prescribe therapeutic art- or hobby-based treatments for ailments ranging from dementia to psychosis, lung conditions, and mental health issues, reported Smithsonian Magazine.

An article on the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco scans a research commissioned by ArtPlace America that had the goal of better understanding how arts and culture can help provide solutions to public health challenges that communities (especially low-income, immigrant, rural, indigenous, and communities of color) are facing across the United States.