Public health in a crisis: The healing powers of the arts

Over the past 20 years, the World Health Organisation has invested much time and resource into researching the effects of the arts and culture on health and well-being. In a 2019 report on the topic, WHO reported that results from over 3,000 studies identified a significant role for the arts in public health, from the prevention of disease to the promotion of health itself. The studies were conducted across small-scale cross-sectional surveys and community-wide ethnographies, as well as those with a national scope.

The report itself was written and published before the spread of Covid-19, but it covers many topics with relation to the relevance of art to ensuring public health that are applicable to the times in which we are currently living. There are two stand-out avenues that University College London’s Daisy Fancourt and Saoirse Finn explore as authors of the report, which can be distilled down to the preventative and curative powers of art in a public health crisis respectively.

Art as a preventative force in a public health crisis

The arts are a tool that can help disseminate vital public, medical and social information to vast swathes of people very quickly. Educational visuals such as these are rooted in the history of the printing press by Johannes Gutenburg in 15th century France that allowed simple text and imagery to be printed in pamphlet form and circulated quickly from household to household. Nowadays and in recent history, there have been many examples of art as a tool for mass education at a global scale. This includes the arts communication of the mid-2010s to educate communities in western and central Africa about the symptoms of Ebola. Artist Leslie Lumeh is just one of the artists commissioned by UNICEF to develop posters to show the public how best to protect themselves from the virus, saving thousands of lives. Art’s established role in crisis communications is vital in the absence of news broadcast technology in many communities and household’s around the world. It serves as a visual and enduring reminder to take government-issued precautions in times of health crisis. 

Art as a curative for isolates and convalescents 

Art therapy has been used as a medical practice to help patients address and express emotional issues since the mid-20th century. Patients who have been prescribed courses of art therapy could suffer a range of diagnoses, including mental health problems, learning or physical disabilities, life-limiting conditions, and physical illnesses. Its success is anecdotal, with many patients in the history of its practice noting “profound and lasting benefits,” according to The British Association of Art Therapists. In the wake of Covid-19, not only are huge numbers of the global population directly experiencing the unpleasant and frequently fatal symptoms of the virus, but many are dealing with the loss of loved ones and the loneliness that often comes with a diminished social life in lockdown. Art therapy can help with these health concerns, as well as the engaging, connecting and uplifting qualities of the arts which are readily accessible online. Engagement with the arts in this way can improve quality of life, thus public health, in times of crisis. Research from Arts Council England has evidenced that a higher rate of engagement with arts and culture is generally associated with a higher level of subjective wellbeing in adults.