Community Well-Being Stage

Community Well-Being and the Arts

Research and Support of Interactive and Generative art Experiences that Connect, Heal, and Transform Communities

This research supports the development and implementation of interactive and generative art experiences as core facilitation and change agents for the well-being of communities. Integral to this effort is providing a foundation of existing information and evidence that underscores the healing and transformative nature of art as a means by which individuals, communities, and cultures can achieve well-being, which includes understanding and adapting to the complexity of what well-being entails in each unique situation.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

There is a rich history, particularly in indigenous and ancient cultures, of using interactive art forms to engage, inform, and enliven the well-being of a community. If we take seriously, as others have, the idea that being creative or making art is a biological necessity (Dissanayake, 1995; White, 2009), then it makes sense that bringing communities together in shared creative experiences can tangibly enhance an individual’s and therefore a group’s physical and emotional health. Moreover, from a depth psychological perspective, we can view the necessity of art as not only biological but psychological and spiritual; a recurring, patterned imprint of potentiality whose energetic impulse arises from the developmental depths of the unconscious. In other words, art is archetypal. As a result, purposeful and interactive creative endeavors can be viewed as catalysts that support the survival and evolution of individuals, communities, and cultures.

This report offers definitions of key concepts, an explanation of the focus of this work, an introduction to existing research and resources, and insights about how to move forward in developing and implementing creative actions, engagements, and interventions that can successfully impact community well-being. In the process, it highlights how cultural development is a necessary quality of vital, flourishing, and sustainable human organizations and processes.

 

KEY CONCEPTS

Well-being, The Arts 

What do we mean when we talk about well-being? Often, the terms wellness and well-being (with or without a hyphen) are treated interchangeably. That said, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) provides definitions that differentiate these ideas through their historical use:

Integral to an active understanding of these terms is the idea of health, which the OED defines as the “soundness of body; that condition in which its functions are duly and efficiently discharged.” However, what is missing in this conception of health is how the physical is not independent of the psychological, rather they are interconnected. Such an understanding is what Richard Smith’s 2002 editorial in the British Medical Journal underscores when he says that “health is about adaptation, understanding, and acceptance.” Smith’s words remind us that health and well-being require a conscious and attentive relationship with our whole selves—body, mind, and spirit—as well as the processes, environments, and other people we engage with.

In the history of Western society, philosophical debates have attempted to differentiate whether well-being was linked to the realization of human potential—a eudemonic or happiness-focused perspective—or merely sensory, hedonistic pleasure. A hedonistic interpretation is what has influenced an at times shallow sense of well-being whereby we seek outer experiences that move us towards gratification and gain, and away from pain and loss. However, what Aristotle emphasized was a eudemonic understanding of well-being as the fulfillment of our ability to find meaning and flourish in life; having enough emotional and spiritual resilience to actively seek ways to achieve our potential (Wiseman & Brasher, 2008).

For a recent theoretical and evidence-based approach to defining well-being, a useful framework is outlined in the 2008 report, “Five Ways to Well-being.” Developed by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), a United Kingdom (UK) government initiative, this research took into account the work of over 400 scientists concerned with varying aspects of well-being and health. NEF’s framework proposes a simple conception of well-being as the assessment of two essential elements: feeling good (inner states—psychological, emotional) and functioning well (outer states—physical, environmental). Beneficially, the report correlates the fulfillment of these two elements with five basic actions:

Their conclusion is that regularly engaging in these actions leads to increasing well-being in our day-to-day existence.

Essentially, we approach the concept of well-being through actions that not only relate to other humans, but also help us make connections with, take notice of, learn from, engage with, and give back to non-human nature, including Earth. A core assumption here is that any present definition of well-being must take into account the influence of the climate crises on our personal and collective physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual health.

In summary, we identify well-being in a holistic and eudemonic sense, extending beyond the sum of personal pleasures, health, and goals to affirm our interrelatedness and attend to our flourishing as individuals embedded in and in active relationship with the world around us.

Community 

A rather ubiquitous term theses days, community is broadly understood to be a collective group or body of people. At first glance, the meaning appears simple to comprehend. However, in application it is a concept that can be difficult to pin down because the term can mean different things to different people, depending on one’s perspective.

Like definitions of art, community often seems to be whatever people say it is, potentially incorporating every conceivable form of human grouping, even those that might otherwise strike one as contradictory. – The Globalism Institute

In a chapter on community cultural development in the Oxford Textbook of Creative Arts, Health, and Wellbeing, psychologist Paul M. Camic (2016) initially provides a descriptive definition more in line with the traditional view of community as “a geographical location such as a neighborhood, village, town, or city” or “a group of people with shared interests or values” (p. 49) He then goes on to include virtual/online groups, which, and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly provide opportunities for people to connect at a distance because of common undertakings, concerns, activities, or experiences. Camic also adds participatory processes to his definition.

In, Creating Community: Celebrations, Arts and Wellbeing Within and Across Local Communities, a 2006 publication from the Globalism Institute (a past research center of RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia) the idea of community is helpfully expanded by classifying three kinds:

A meaningful element in characterizing what is meant by community is noticing why and how existing bonds between people came into being and new connections are made. Such insights are important because forming and sustaining reciprocal relationships is integral to cultivating an evolving sense of well-being in groups as well as individuals.

Art/The Arts

Integral to this research is bringing together the notion of community well-being in relation to creative experiences— in other words, art. Therefore, being clear about what we mean by art, or the arts is important. That said, debates about how to or even why define art have gone on throughout the history of Western culture. For the sake of brevity as well as clarity, whereas we acknowledge the significance of that history and understanding, we propose a definition of art that is open, inclusive, multi-dimensional, qualitatively valuable, and evolving.

Art is not, as the meta-physicians say, the manifestation of some mysterious idea of beauty or God; it is not, as the aesthetical physiologists say, a game in which man lets off his excess of stored energy; it is not the expression of man’s emotions by external signs; it is not the production of pleasing objects; and, above all, it is not pleasure; but it is a means of union among men, joining them together in the same feelings, and indispensable for the life and progress toward the well-being of individuals and of humanity. – Leo Tolstoy

Although Tolstoy, in the above quote, seemed to feel confident about what art is, what he excludes here from a definition of art is often what many others define art to be. Such differences in personal and philosophical views of art are what makes confining art to an overriding definition difficult. Formally and historically speaking, part of the complexity in identifying what is meant by art is because there have been and still are different fields of study that address either formal, academic, philosophical, monetized, or critical points of view. In other words, there is a history of art-focused disciplines, institutions, and organizations that have their own ground of understanding as well as theories about how to identify what art is. However, it is important to recognize that much of the formal history of Western art contains gaps in attention or acknowledgement to equally creative ideas, processes, and objects due to perspectives that purposefully omit artworks and events because of gender, race, and ethnicity related biases.

For our purposes, art or the arts encompasses a broad range of ideas, histories, philosophies, and cultural expressions. Art, therefore, is not only the fine art objects or experiences—for example paintings, sculptures, ballet, symphonies, or poetry—that most people associate with the word. Art as an expression of participatory creativity and its results includes all manner of sensorial experience. Within this realm we include the importance of a variety of storytelling and narrative practices, on their own or in combination with visual, vocal, and movement creative expressions.

Significantly, we recognize that throughout human history, individuals, tribes, and societies have used large and small gatherings—rituals, ceremonies, festivals, and celebrations—to creatively address a sense of connection and well-being. In this respect, our concept of art definitely agrees with Tolstoy’s notion that art is a “means of union” among humans.

Reciprocity

Reciprocity, the standard social science term for returning a gift, has this sense of going to and fro between people. When the gift moves in a circle its motion is beyond the control of the personal ego, and so each bearer must be a part of the group and each donation is an act of social faith. – Lewis Hyde, The Gift

In working with others, developing creative interactions, and facilitating relationships, we emphasize the importance of reciprocity. As defined in the OED, reciprocity denotes a “quality, state, or condition of being reciprocal.” In application, reciprocity is about having an interactive and mutual relationship with the world—being conscious of, participating in, and respectful of a natural field of interdependence with all things. Reciprocity’s chief characteristic is consciously revering and preserving the intrinsic natural balance in all life. It is a psychological dynamic and a perspective that is inherent, and yet outside of indigenous cultures, has had little recognition or active practice in modern society, until recently. When people speak these days about “social capitol” they are basically invoking the idea of reciprocity.

Potawatomi Nation citizen and botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer, in her best-selling book, Braiding Sweetgrass (2013), repeats the word reciprocity like a mantra (119 times) emphasizing its significance in our understanding of how to live interrelatedly with the world. Through the wisdom of her indigenous heritage and science-trained knowledge, she reminds us how the creation and destruction of energy and matter is circular—a give and take flow that operates to support the life of the whole system.

In terms of this work, we consider reciprocity to be an assumed practice in the development of community programs and their impact. Following the examples from nature, we partake of reciprocity to engage a conscious relationship with each other and our surroundings. “To take only what is given, to use it well, to be grateful for the gift, and to reciprocate the gift” enables us all to flourish and survive (Kimmerer, 2013, p. 20).

 

THE FOCUS: EMPLOYING THE ARTS AS A CATALYST FOR COMMUNITY WELL-BEING

There is a growing body of evidence that creativity and the arts can make a significant difference to people’s health and well-being—and also to how they feel about, and interact with, their neighbours. – Cameron, Crane, Ings, & Taylor; “Promoting Well-being Through Creativity”

The Change Agents aim to develop and facilitate creative interactions, experiences, and interventions that serve to engage and enhance a reciprocal quality of well-being at a community level—be that individuals, social groups, or professional organizations. According to public health researchers Wiseman and Brasher (2008), community well-being develops through a mix “of social, economic, environmental, cultural, and political” situations and factors identified by individuals of a community as being fundamental to flourishing and fulfilling their potential (p. 358). Put another way, when addressing the needs of a community, a holistic and multi-faceted perspective of the group’s sense of themselves and their idea of well-being, as well as the surrounding context is important.

What current research suggests is that to be effective and sustainable, community well-being needs to be approached as an active field, a dynamic process whereby healthful awareness and resourcefulness emerges rather than is pre-determined. Such a field is energized through cultivating a capacity for adaptation, providing opportunities for better understanding, and building tolerance for the evolving nature of well-being. Programs and practices work best when they are developed through a collaboration with the targeted community, listening and responding to the group’s input and evaluations throughout the process. In other words, community well-being endeavors are not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ proposition. Each community is as unique as each individual and so the details concerning how to work with these groups must also be unique.

Creativity is inherent to processes that require developing unique strategies and targeted programs. Complementary to this understanding, the work proposed here is focused and builds on the growing recognition and evidence of how employing creativity and the arts directly as catalysts in community development efforts promotes well-being. Research has shown that the benefit of employing the arts in this way includes, but is not limited to, enriching an understanding of health and healthcare systems, aiding in cultural regeneration, and cultivating social connectedness (Perkins, Mason-Bentrand, Tymoszuk, Spiro, Gee, & Williamson, 2021; Cameron, Crane, Ings, & Taylor, 2013; White, 2009; Kay, 2000).

A case in point is the 2013 peer-reviewed article, “Promoting Well-being Through Creativity: How Arts and Public Health can Learn From Each Other,” from the UK journal Perspectives in Public Health. The authors evaluated several UK programs, including the above-mentioned New Economics Foundation (NEF) project that connected a well-being model to five basic actions—make connections, take notice, continually learn, be active, and give. Significantly, the 2013 article proposes that those five actions correspond directly with typical behaviors “that can emerge in well-designed participatory arts projects” (Cameron et al., p. 55). Its point is that well-being is an inherent element of interactive creative experiences, especially ones that are consciously developed with a community’s input and collaboration.

This conclusion is perhaps not surprising as throughout the history of human cultures, people have gathered together in communal spaces to participate in creative and imaginal experiences that can be viewed as a form of collective mental and physical health care. Usually these experiences, particularly in the past, are initiated through formal and prescribed rites or ceremonies composed of sequences of activities that might include physical gestures, spoken words, repeated actions, or special objects. Although outside of religious institutions our Western culture has generally left behind such formal ceremonies, indigenous cultures in particular still carry-on ritualistic practices for reasons of individual and community health. As White highlights in his 2009 book, Arts Development in Community Health, rituals, ceremonies, and the like were developed and evolved to help form bonds between people as a survival mechanism. More recently, public intellectual Charles Eisenstein (2021) in a series of essays concerning COVID-19, the climate crises, and ongoing political polarity, iterates the survival function of festivals in particular. He details how these ritualized gatherings were once the creative mechanisms that enabled cultures to imaginally and physically experience violent impulses and unrest without acting out on such impulses in everyday life.

One of the relevant explanations given for art’s therapeutic and socially persuasive quality is that in contrast to everyday life, creative practices and imaginal experiences allow us to organize, envision, explore, and test out different ways of seeing and being in the world in a relatively safe environment. Art critic Ellen Dissanayake’s foundational book, Homo Aestheticus: Where Art Comes From and Why (1995), corroborates this idea. Specifically, it discusses how art has a “making special” quality that allows for social changes to occur because creative experiences naturally connect us to instinctual and root concerns through imaginally attuning with feelings and desires. Effectively, this special quality is part of art’s transformative power. Art practices and experiences take us into a non-ordinary liminal zone in which ideas and feelings are given space to transition from one phase to another—a dynamic that is the very nature of creativity, its archetypal essence.

Community arts can . . . build social integration, heal the divisions in communities that impact on health, motivate healthier lifestyle choices, alleviate stress caused by environmental factors and provide support in personal or collective trauma – Mike White, Arts Development in Community Health: A Social Tonic

White explicitly draws a connection to Dissanayake’s ideas in support of explaining what is powerful about using the arts as a tool for community health and well-being development. He makes the point that employing the arts for the health, well-being, and social benefit of a community becomes a learning opportunity for everyone involved.

An important distinction to note here is that we are not talking about art as therapy or as an instrument to implement what has already become procedure within a community. Rather we seek to enlist art collaboratively, to develop work of artistic quality as a primary mechanism of transformation. This approach means employing creativity to see what develops and what can be newly understood in order to then map out a path forward.

 

THE FOCUS: EMPLOYING THE ARTS AS A CATALYST FOR COMMUNITY WELL-BEING

According to complexity theory, nature evolves not linearly but through systems of relationships or networks. In Complexity: A Guided Tour, computer scientist Melanie Mitchell (2009) explains how interactions within such networks are made up of nonhierarchical and interrelated parts, which form increasingly complex systems that are adaptive, self-ordering, and emergent (pp. 12–13). Not surprisingly, this explanation sounds a lot like Smith’s above definition of health—after all, humans are a conglomerate of complex systems. It also stands to reason that work which involves creative responses to community development will naturally involve interaction with existing and forming complex systems.

Part of the paradigm shift that we are experiencing in the 21st Century, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 global pandemic and a broader awakening to the climate crisis, is a call to realign with the interactive complexity of life in both large and small ways. How do we keep pace with and expand our tolerance for the chaos that is inherent to this time of monumental transformative change? The natural tendency of complex systems is for something new and unforeseen to spontaneously emerge in response to the chaos of old systems breaking down. New forms and ideas tend to manifest at the edges of the old, a transitional zone where order (known structures) and chaos (dis-order and the unknown) paradoxically coexist. Although uncomfortable, the state between order and chaos is latent with energetic fertility, providing an ideal atmosphere for creativity to flourish.

In Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, writer and activist Adrienne Maree Brown (2017) looks at what enables emergent forms of development to take hold and transform systems. In the book, Brown identifies six elements that offer a framework for cultivating emergence:

Needless to say, complexity, emergence, and the arts go hand in hand. For the purposes of this research and work, Brown’s framework offers specific dynamics to engage and embody in order to cultivate the kind of creative projects that promote emergence as a way of addressing sustainable well-being for the communities we serve. White (2009) underscores this kind of relational, non-linear approach when he says that, “in community contexts, the most successful projects are those that lay down educational and social pathways to channel awakened enthusiasms” (p. 85).

Essentially, enlisting complexity and emergent strategies acknowledges that forming relationships, employing non-linear solutions, accepting the unknowable, and adapting to change is fundamental to the work that we do (in no small part because theses qualities are fundamental to life itself). From this perspective, going forward in work that seeks to engage and develop the well-being of communities requires us to have an open perspective in each instance and phase of development.

 

 

KEY RESOURCES

Using creative experiences and art interventions as catalysts for the development of well-being in a community is still a relatively new endeavor. That said, there exists a growing body of evidence-based and qualitative research and resources that can be tapped to help support and develop this work. Introduced in this paper and highlighted below are a few significant examples that also provide further avenues of investigation.

Books

Arts Development in Community Health: A Social Tonic, Mike White, 2009.

In Arts Development in Community Health: A Social Tonic, Mike White traces the development of art practices that are now an integral aspect of UK healthcare systems to make a case for the relationship between art and community health. He enlists pertinent case studies to illustrate and amplify how the arts can be powerful mechanisms for transformative change. The book also illustrates and offers practical advice on best practices for engaging artists in community health and social development projects. Using the following figure, White illustrates the relational dynamics that exist between employing the arts for group or individual benefits and in connection to health services. 

Although our projects are not focusing on health care in the traditional medical sense, White defines health broadly and includes the social sense that we are calling well-being. Significantly, one of the case examples that White highlights is Molly Sturges’ residency project, MOMENT, conducted in Cork, Ireland. Regarding it, White says that “MOMENT was perhaps the best-realised example of a participatory arts in health project asserting its quality and relevance to both contemporary art practice and person-centred care” (p. 119).

Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, Adrienne Maree Brown, 2017 

As discussed above, Brown’s book offers a framework and strategies for developing and facilitating projects that engage in an emergence approach to transformative actions. Starting with a discussion of the ideas and theories concerning complexity and the role of emergence, the book then steps through each of the six elements that Brown identifies as an emergence framework. The book also provides assessment tools and suggestions for practical facilitation. Although not expressly focused on community development and well-being, there is much here that overlaps with and is relevant to such work. 

Oxford Textbook of Creative Arts, Health, and Wellbeing, Edited by Stephen Clift and Paul M. Camic, 2016 

The Oxford Textbook of Creative Arts, Health, and Wellbeing is the first work of its kind to bring together contribution from practitioners and researchers in this field from around the world, providing a comprehensive account of the role of the creative arts in addressing public health needs at individual and community levels across the life-course. – (back cover) 

This textbook is a collection of essays from a breadth of practitioners and researchers addressing in different ways the growing interest in how the arts can contribute to the well-being of humans in both traditional medical and community settings. The essays are divided into four sections and cover a range of topics: Creative arts and human health and wellbeing, National and international developments in practice, Creative arts and public health across the life-course, and Creative arts and public health in different settings. 

Organizations 

Culture, Health, and Wellbeing Alliance, United Kingdom 

In comparison to the US, developing collaborations between the arts and well-being programs has been, more substantially researched and put into action in the UK. There are many organizations that are location specific—England, Ireland, Scotland, etc—as well as broadly addressing the UK as a whole. The Culture, Health, and Wellbeing Alliance (https://www. culturehealthandwellbeing.org.uk) is an England-wide and free membership-based organization for anyone who embraces the idea that engaging in creativity and cultural experiences can transform well-being and health. Their mission is “to build a common understanding that creativity and culture are integral to health and wellbeing. This is an approach that engages with prevention and health-creation not just treatment and disease; is asset-based and holistic; and is communal, collective and co-produced.” Their work includes advocating for projects and further research; supporting networks to develop relationships and programs concerning culture, health, and well-being at the local level; and provide resources, training and education on the subject. 

One of their sub-organizations is the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing (APPGAHW, https://www.culturehealthandwellbeing. org.uk/who-we-are/appg). Formed in 2014, this group “aims to improve awareness of the benefits that the arts can bring to health and wellbeing.” Their work involves research, evaluation, and dissemination of information with the aim of influencing policy and existing practices. Their informative and insightful 2017 report, “Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing,” presents the findings of two years of research and evidence-gathering, which includes the results of discussions with “patients, health and social care professionals, artists and arts administrators, academics, people in local government, ministers, other policy-makers and parliamentarians from both Houses of Parliament.” 

National Organization for Arts in Health, United States 

In the United States the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH, https://thenoah.net) provides a platform for the emerging field of “Arts in Health” that prioritizes engaging art as a regular practice in healthcare and community wellness. Formally established in 2017, NOAH’s history reaches back to 1989. Although its focus is more on traditional medical health institutions, its mission recognizes the idea of health more broadly as defined by the World Health Organization—“a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.” The NOAH and WHO definition importantly implies a holistic perspective that goes beyond seeing health as just the absence of illness or disease. 

NOAH provides transformational leadership to bring the field of arts in health together, and to move the field forward. Our focus is on the future of arts, health, and wellbeing; and creating tangible impact from our goals and initiatives. We know through research and experience that the arts are an integral component to health, and we are committed to shaping a reality where that fact is accepted fully, and incorporated into medical treatment, medical education, prevention, and public health and wellbeing. – https://thenoah.net 

According to NOAH’s 2017 white paper, “Arts, Health, and Wellbeing in America,” the maturing field of Arts in Health is “dedicated to using the power of the arts to enhance health and well-being in diverse institutional and community contexts.” In other words, NOAH recognizes that healthcare in particular needs to continue to evolve to treat the whole person—spirit, mind, and body. According to NOAH, such evolution means incorporating the arts in order to prevent illness before it takes hold and manage ongoing care such that a high quality of life is sustained.

That said, although it talks about supporting programs that promote community wellness outside of healthcare facilities, NOAH’s materials still tends to emphasize traditional modes of healthcare that are solely focused on “human health and wellbeing”—illness models of prevention and treatment geared toward individual bodies. Given the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating threats from the climate crisis, it is important that, in a broader context of health and well-being, we address not only the whole person but the whole community, where the health of a community encompasses the interrelated relationship between humans and non-human nature. This sort of perspective is a potential gap that The Change Agents work could focus on to offer much needed leadership and facilitation.

New Economics Foundation, United Kingdom 

With a focus on the economics of human flourishing, The New Economics Foundation (NEF, https://neweconomics. org) and their consulting arm, NEF Consulting (https:// www.nefconsulting.com), engage in research and projects that seek sustainable solutions and social impact. Their three-fold mission is to craft new social settlements, enact a green new deal, and develop a more democratic economy.

Their publications cover a broad range of topics including wellbeing and climate change. As discussed above, in their 2008 “Five Ways to Wellbeing” report, NEF provides a framework and model of for enhancing the wellbeing of individuals and communities. The following figure from the report represents a model of how they envision the set of actions operates.

Journals

Arts & Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy, and Practice 

Design for Health 

Journal of Applied Arts & Health 

Journal of Medical Humanities 

Music Therapy Perspectives 

Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy 

Keywords

The Arts, Community, Evolve, Emergent, Generative, Impactful, Interactive, Intervention, Participatory, Reciprocity, Resilience, Resourceful, Story, Transformation, Well-being 

References

Aked, J., Marks, N., Cordon, C., & Thompson, S. (2008). Five ways to wellbeing. New Economics Foundation. https://neweconomics.org/2008/10/five-ways-to-wellbeing 

Brown, A. M. (2017). Emergent strategy: Shaping change, changing worlds. AK Press. 

Cameron, M., Crane, N, Ings, R., & Taylor, K. (2013). Promoting well-being through creativity: How arts and public health can learn from each other. Perspectives in Public Health, 133(1), 52-59. 

Camic, P. M. (2016). Community cultural development for health and wellbeing. In Oxford textbook of creative arts, health, and wellbeing: International perspectives on practice, policy, and research (pp. 49-54). 

Clift, S., & Camic, P. M. (Eds). (2016). Oxford textbook of creative arts, health, and wellbeing: International perspectives on practice, policy, and research. Oxford University Press. 

Dissanayake, E. (1995). Homo aestheticus: Where art comes from and why. University of Washington Press. https://www.scribd.com/ document/229645327/Dissanayake-Homo-Aestheticus 

Eisenstein, C. (2021). https://charleseisenstein.org/essays/ 

Everett, A., & Hamilton, R. (2003). Arts, health and community: A study of five arts in community health projects. https://www.artshealthresources.org.uk/ wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2003-Everitt-and-Hamiliton-Arts-Health-and-Community.pdf 

Hyde, L. (2007). The gift: Creativity and the artist in the modern world (2nd. Ed). Vintage Books. 

Kay, A. (2000). Art and community development: The role the arts have in regenerating communities, Community Development Journal, 34 (4). 

Kimmerer, R. W. (2013). Braiding sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants. Milkweed Editions. 

Mulligan, M., Humphrey, K., James, P., Scanlon, C., Smith, P., & Welch, N. (2006). Creating community: Celebrations, arts and wellbeing within and across local communities. RMIT Print Services. https://www.creativecity.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/creating_community.pdf 

National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH, 2017). Arts, health, and well-being in America. https://thenoah.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/NOAH- 2017-White-Paper-Online-Edition.pdf 

Perkins, R., et al. (2021). Arts engagement supports social connectedness in adulthood: Findings from the HEartS survey, BMC Public Health (biomedcentral.com) 

Smith, R. (2002). Spend (slightly) less on health and more on the arts: Health would probably be improved. British Medical Journal, 325 (7378), 1432- 1433. doi: 10.1136/bmj.325.7378.1432 

White, M. (2009). Arts development in community health: A social tonic. Radcliff Publishing. 

Wiseman, J., & Brasher, K. (2008). Community wellbeing in an unwell world: Trends, challenges, and possibilities. Journal of Public Health Policy, 29(3), 353–366. doi: 10.1057/jphp.2008.16