arts and public health
What has been interesting by my conversations around how the arts benefits public health. A couple of areas.
One is that most art projects tend to be short term (max 1-2yrs) and communities are getting fed up with artists coming in, getting to know them, doing project and then buggering off – no long term life to these projects. Unlike health programs which tend to have a much longer life span and time for them to evaluate how they benefit public health.
The other is this wanting ‘hard’ evidence, empirical, quantifiable proof on the results of how an art project has actually benefited public health.
With a community art event – is it the art that has made people feel better, or is it the educational aspect, or is it just that they are being listened to and their voice is heard?
