What does an arts and health organisation do?
Authors(s), Creator(s) and Contributors: Flinders University, Tully Barnett, Alex Cothren, Joanne Arciuli
Publication Date: 27/09/2024
Categories: Other, Evaluation / Reports
Introduction
The authors interviewed members of 22 different arts and health organisations across the globe, from Australia to Nigeria, Finland to Japan. They were asked about the different roles arts and health organisations play in advancing the field: how they got started, what they saw as the key ingredients to their success, what challenges they faced while undertaking the work and how they sought to overcome those obstacles.
There are a wide range of organisations represented here, including research groups at universities, national membership networks, government-funded promotion centres, nonprofits focused on practice or training, and private entities catering to specific client bases. Some are focused on their local region, while others have national, or indeed, global aims. Many are interconnected with each other in various ways.
In addition to using case studies to communicate the work of the 22 organisations, the authors have distilled some themes, connections, and disparities that connect or offer counterpoints between the organisations.
Key findings
- The research identifies that there is a strong evidence base for arts and health work but what is missing is the capacity to get the evidence into action.
- A significant challenge for the sector going forward will be how to diversify the workforce and its perspectives.
- There is a need to support First Nations people, concepts and knowledge to lead arts & health.
- There is a unique opportunity to bring disparate threads of arts & health work together.
- Australia needs a national arts & health hub.
