Arts for Health
The Mississauga Arts Council is excited about the possibilities for an arts for health program of creative health care services that would deliver the proven health benefits for clients of all ages using creative arts experiences while providing stable employment for artists of all practices.
MAC, as a part of an Arts in Health steering committee, has the following Vision, Mission and Goals.
Vision:
Well being for all through creative expression
Mission:
To make the arts an integral part of healthcare protocols
Goals:
1. Building relationships with primary healthcare providers.
2. Identify medical allies and agencies to work with client groups who can benefit from social prescriptions.
3. Create an inventory of arts organizations willing to provide creative experiences for health services.
Arts for Health Resources
MAC wants to make the public aware of the health benefits of the arts. The resources below document real-world examples of Arts for Health in action across Canada and the globe.
Reports
Brain Burnout
Originally Published in UVic News by Suzanne Ahearne Cheap, portable technology measures cognitive fatigue What if you could peer inside people’s brains to see what’s going on? This may sound like a sci-fi pipe-dream, but to University of Victoria neuroscientist Olav Krigolson, the brain is his “final frontier” containing the last great mysteries of the human body. From his Theoretical […]
‘Storycare’ should be an essential part of health care
Originally Published in The Star by Dan Yashinsky A white feather floated out of my old parka into the hospital room. The timing was uncanny. I work as the storyteller-in-residence at Baycrest Health Sciences, and was visiting a patient in the palliative care unit. Milton was very frail, and his wife and daughter were keeping vigil at his bedside. Even […]
VIBE Arts brings emerging artists’ work to TTC subway stations
Originally Published in The Star by Dominik Kurek For 28-year-old Nicholas Wannamaker, art is a lifeline. “I do art because I’ve never gotten mental health help, so basically everything I do is me dissecting a part of my soul that’s been fractured, damaged, and it’s basically an exploration and representation of the healing I’m trying to do,” the Lawrence and Warden […]
Creativity and Recovery: The Mental Health Benefits of Art Therapy
Originally Published in RTOR by Guest Author Art – no matter whether you choose to create it yourself or simply observe and enjoy it – is a relaxing and inspiring activity for many people. However, the particular benefits of artistic expression go much further than relaxation and enjoyment. Studies suggest that art therapy can be very valuable in treating issues such as […]
Art and Mental Illness
Originally Published in Blogs by Tara Parker-Pope Last year, The New York Times called the Mexican artist Martín Ramírez “simply one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.” What is so remarkable about his achievement, beyond the mesmerizing repetition of lines and images in his drawings, is that all of the work was created inside a mental institution. Mr. […]
Toronto’s Rendezvous with Madness arts festival wants people to #GetMad
Originally Published in Toronto News by Rahul Gupta A long-running arts festival focused on mental health wants patrons to #GetMad about depression and suicide. Rendezvous with Madness was the world’s first film festival solely dedicated to exploring themes of mental health when it debuted 27 years ago. In recent years, the festival has expanded its offerings beyond film to include visual […]
From depression to Parkinson’s disease: The healing power of dance
Orginally Published in The Mississauga News By Adrienna Mendrek “When a body moves, it’s the most revealing thing. Dance for me a minute, and I’ll tell you who you are.” Mikhail Baryshnikov Why do we stop dancing when we grow up? Why do we disconnect and alienate ourselves from the body? It is surprising to me that dance/movement therapy (DMT) is not […]
The culture cure: how prescription art is lifting people out of depression
Originally published in The Guardian by Helen Russell. In a whitewashed studio in northern Denmark, 11 unemployed strangers are embarking on a hearty rendition of Yellow Submarine. Jonas Thrysøe is not one of them. At least, not yet. The 36-year-old has agoraphobia, rarely leaves the house and can’t think of anything worse than a group singalong. And yet by the […]
How a program in Mississauga is helping at-risk refugee youth through art
Originally published in the Mississauga News. A program in Mississauga is helping at-risk refugee youth’s mental health with the simple act of teaching photography. The project, called Flash Forward Photovoice, was founded by Marwa Khobieh and Amina Jalabi in Montreal in 2016 and is now operated out of the Syrian Canadian Foundation in Mississauga by Khobieh and photographer Walaa Mousli. The […]
Instructor uses expressive arts to help others overcome challenges
Originally published by haliburtonecho.ca Instructor Gary Diggins stands on a colourful interlocking rubber floor mat, in a classroom at Haliburton School of Art + Design surrounded by musical instruments as he talks about the power of expressive arts practice. “The expressive art practice is a way of helping a person sit with some of those big things in life and […]
