Creativity and Hope: The Mental Health Benefits of Arts Engagement
Time to read: Approx. 5 minutes
Think back to your last artistic experience. Do you remember how you felt before, during, and afterwards? Art has power. Studies have shown that engaging with arts and culture reduces stress and leads to longer, happier lives. An art experience can leave you feeling inspired, nostalgic, angry, perplexed, or an array of other emotions. Art challenges assumptions, illuminates different perspectives, and encourages empathy and at times, activism. Art can heal as much as it can provoke. Can you imagine a life without it?
As a member of the Arts Commons team for the past six years, I’ve seen the impact of the arts on mental wellness countless times. In this article, we will explore how the arts contribute to: healing after a traumatic event, impeding cognitive decline, relieving depression and anxiety, and elevating marginalized communities.
The Arts and Child Development
Educators and neuroscientists agree that “a child’s brain needs to be stimulated in a variety of ways to foster development” (etfo.org). For years, Arts Commons has provided opportunities to learn through the arts with programs such as One Day Arts School, or the week-long field study program of ConocoPhillips Hub for Inspired Learning (Hub). Research shows that the arts help students “develop effective ways of expressing thoughts, knowledge, and feelings”, generate creative solutions to challenging problems, gain higher self-confidence, and improve social skills. The Arts Commons Education team beams when they share how formerly shy kids regularly come out of their shell, gaining confidence and friendship through self-expression and arts engagement.
““The arts teach children that problems can have MORE than ONE solution and that questions can have more than one answer. The arts celebrate multiple PERSPECTIVES…that there are many ways to SEE and INTERPRET the world.” ”
In response to the global pandemic, Arts Commons Education is championing Te Rito Toi – an arts healing program out of New Zealand that provides advice and resources for educators to leverage the arts in their healing discussions with students. The UNESCO NZ sanctioned program is based on the understanding that while schools help students prepare for the future, they can also help them make sense of the present, especially after traumatic and/or life-changing events. (The program was used, post-disaster, in the earthquake zones of Christchurch, and in Australia, following the deadly bushfires.) Te Rito Toi puts the arts at the centre of “meaning making and the renewing of hope”, which as kids return to school, we all need a bit of. The program is also sanctioned by The World Alliance for Arts Education.
Students observe their surroundings and journal about their experiences learning through the arts at Arts Commons’ ConocoPhillips Hub for Inspired Learning week-long field study.
Art as Therapy
Anything that elicits a sense of wonder and awe triggers the release of powerful neurochemicals, like dopamine, which enhance our mood. Observing art, whether it be an interpretive dance, a photo or painting, a musician sharing their talents, or a play that immerses us in a story outside of our own, can give us a sense of hope and even provide feelings of fulfillment. Someone suffering from anxiety or depression is usually worrying about the past or the future and bombarded with a relentless series of negative and destructive emotions. Creating art can be meditative and promote mindfulness, allowing us to live more presently in the moment, overcoming worry and fear by focusing on something more positive – creation.
““The arts act as a medium for processing emotional experiences during trauma and grief, while regulating and becoming a calming agent for improved feelings of satisfaction and wellness.” ”
Jennifer Buchanan, of JB Music Therapy, began her experience with music as therapy at a young age. When she was 14 years old, her grandfather had a stroke that left him unable to walk or talk, but music still spoke to him. Every Friday, Jennifer and her musical family would visit her grandfather and sing with him and the other residents. It became a highlight in both of their weeks. When she came across the profession of music therapy, it felt like a natural fit. “All cultures use art, and during times of crisis, we seek art's power to connect, create, and soothe,” shared Buchanan. “The arts are a communication bridge, one that can help you express and process your greatest life challenges.”
The Arts and Representation
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in four people will be affected by mental or neurological disorders in their lifetime and disadvantaged and marginalized communities often “bear the greater burden of mental disorders, both in terms of the risk of having a mental disorder and the lack of access to treatment.”
The Colour Factor is a non-profit, Calgary-based wellness organization with initiatives that focus on closing the gap and creating safe spaces for BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) communities to heal through conversation, collaboration, and creativity. I spoke with Priscilla Cherry, Co-Founder of The Colour Factor, about the unique experience and needs of the BIPoC community.
An exercise in releasing negative emotions, by The Colour Factor.
“Black and Indigenous individuals are at higher risk for substance use, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and psychosis, but are the least likely to reach out for help,” says Cherry. “When someone from the BIPoC community is unable to relate to the services they’re accessing for the simple fact they don’t see someone that ‘looks’ like them discussing mental health concerns, self-stigmatization is created and prevents them from seeking support. When service providers do not take into consideration hiring, representing, empowering or advocating for personnel from various backgrounds and cultures, systemic oppression and intergenerational trauma is perpetuated.”
According to Cherry, The Colour Factor leverages “ancestral forms of healing that already exist within the beautiful mosaic of our respective cultures such as drumming, spoken word, yoga, storytelling, dance, and visual and graphic arts. Art is used to create a stronger sense of identity and belonging, connection and hope. At The Colour Factor, we believe we are creative beings first. Art supports mental wellness because it reveals who we were all along.”
““Seeing yourself – whether that’s gender, race, sexual orientation, ability – in any form of art - tells you that you’re not alone, that what you hope for, or what you may have experienced is worthy of respect. It helps you locate yourself and it helps you dream.” ”
Josh Dalledonne, Producing and Engagement Associate at Arts Commons, primarily works with minority and marginalized communities. “In my own experience as a queer man, finally seeing a loving gay relationship onstage or onscreen was a lightbulb moment (and continues to be today)”, said Dalledonne. “I finally felt what it was like to see myself, without having to translate: changing the heterosexual couple or ‘traditional’ family into something that better resembled what my reality was or could be.”
The Arts and Aging
You’ve likely seen the video of the elderly man in the nursing home who had been listless and unresponsive until a set of headphones was placed on his head and his favourite music played into his ears. His eyes light up, he begins to sing and dance in his seat, and when asked about music, he comes alive with stories from his past. This video demonstrates the ability of the arts to truly transform.
Creating art is also a powerful way to engage the mind and memory, stimulating the right brain. According to Harvard Health, in people with dementia and other progressive neurological diseases, the ability to create art (a right brain process) remains long after speech and language have diminished (typically left brain skills).
““The arts have a part to play in many aspects of dementia, from delaying its onset and diminishing its severity to improving quality of life.””
In the film, I Remember Better When I Paint, we see the way the arts circumvent the limitations of disorders such as Alzheimer's and help renew a sense of identity for people with the disease. The film demonstrates how drawing and painting stimulated memories in people with dementia and enabled them to reconnect with the world.
As we age and our worlds become smaller, we need to ensure that we remain engaged in the arts, in order to stay connected to both ourselves and the world around us. The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation and Vancouver Coastal Health partnered with local community health, wellness, and arts organizations, to deliver arts programming for seniors. In the resulting Arts, Health + Seniors report, the project findings indicated that arts participation “increased social connections and belonging”.
In my personal experience, after my mom passed away, my dad spent much of his time doing paperwork and watching television. I tried to encourage him to write his memoir, to turn on some music, to read. But each time I spoke with him, it was paperwork and television. A year passed and dad slowly moved beyond his grief. He had started eating with other residents in the retirement home dining room, making friends, and participating in some of the social events. One day I called him and I could hear music playing in the background. My mom was always the one that turned on the stereo and they would dance together in the kitchen. Dad had not listened to music since she passed. But that day, his voice was lighter, and when I asked him how he was, he said, “I’m doing fantastic, to be honest! I’ve got my music playing and boy, I forgot how much I love it – thank you for reminding me!”
Whether participating in or observing, the arts allow us to both lose ourselves in imagination and creativity, and stimulate our senses and our memories, to help us find ourselves again. The arts are essential to the mental wellbeing of ourselves, our children, our parents and grandparents, and society as a whole.
