The Arts as Public Service: A Critical Analysis Exploring the Relationship between the Arts and Wellbeing

Abstract

This paper will argue that the arts can contribute to wellbeing by supporting positive mental wellbeing as demonstrated in the breadth and quality of current arts and mental health practice. This practice challenges existing notions of evidence-based policy used to inform the development of public services. The exploration of relationship between arts and mental health highlights the specific interventions that demonstrate effective engagement with people experiencing mental health issues. The paper outlines the contextual background of arts and mental health and makes reference to the ongoing influence of earlier art movements like Outsider art. Then, the following examples of practice: art therapy, social prescribing, community arts projects and art in public spaces, will be brought together in order to classify arts and mental health as a distinct field which can be compared and contrasted to the wider arts and health movement. Finally this paper will deconstruct and analyze what arts and mental health practice means in terms of understanding mental health; challenging what is accepted as artwork and the role of people with mental health needs as artists. This paper asks for new and appropriate ways to measure the outcomes of the arts as a public service that recognize the expertise of the people and communities creating and experiencing the art.