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I want to help people without prior knowledge of art history write about issues that affect them – through the prism of an artwork.
Relatives of those who disappeared under the Pinochet regime demand information about their loved ones in Santiago, Chile, in 2000.
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State-sponsored disappearance plays into the most primal of human fears – to vanish without a trace. The modern era started with Chile’s US-backed coup on September 11 1973
CSIRO
A chatbot that lets users express their feelings by drawing may help communication and treatment for people with chronic pain.
Facing a blank page can be an exercise in courage.
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Art, music and poetry therapy can help patients feel more optimistic and less isolated as well as to embrace the uncertainty that comes with illness.
As of 2022 there were 3,216 women prisoners in the UK.
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The artworks created by women in prison brought us greater understanding of their often complex and traumatic experiences
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Chat to your child while they draw, or learn about a new artistic style together.
Lollard adventure playground, Lambeth, London, 1955.
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The devastation of the second world war allowed progressive planners to reimagine the city and make spaces for children and young people to play in.
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2023 will mark the ten year anniversary of Australia’s National Arts and Health Framework. Our new research points the way forward from here.
Images become forms of self-expression in areas where language was silenced.
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By adopting aspects of the expressive arts in the classroom, teachers may help children discover a healing narrative.
Hospital design shifted in the 20th century as hospitals moved from being places for treating disease and injury to being centres of health systems.
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The theory of supportive design considers
positive distraction, perceptions of control and social support.
To Ono, imaginative acts were a form of survival.
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Ono’s commitment to regenerative rituals is instructive in an era of turmoil and instability.
Wheel by Hiromi Tango and Dr Emma Burrows (2021)
Science Gallery/Alan Weedon
A youth-focussed exhibition about experiences of mental health is interactive and expansive, kicking down the barriers between science and art.
Darren Fisher
I’m a keen doodler who turned a hobby into a PhD and then a career. I’ve also seen what hurdles people face when it comes to learning to draw and how they can be overcome.
Older adults can experience negative health effects due to social isolation.
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Social isolation in older adults can contribute to negative health outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this, but an arts-based program can alleviate some of the loneliness.
Vocabulary surrounding Alzheimer’s and other related disorders must be carefully chosen. Here, sculpture by Jaume Plensa, in Montréal.
(Flickr/Art_Inthecity)
Arts-related activities for people living with Alzheimer’s and other related disorders could improve people’s quality of life, but collaborating in communities requires a common language.
About 62% of Sierra Leonean women aged 15-49 have experienced physical or sexual violence.
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Theatre is able to create a space for discussion about how and why women experience physical and emotional violence.
The Torch artist and Barkindji man Trevor Mitchell at work on a painting.
The Torch
With 350 artworks created by 320 Indigenous artists who are in or recently released from prison, The Torch is making a difference to how people are seen and how they see themselves.
Members of South Africa’s Zip Zap Circus.
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An ongoing study shows that storytelling can positively increase self-awareness in young people, especially if they can relate to the stories. But in Africa access to story platforms is limited.
At home or at school, practising art can be used to build capacity for managing mental and emotional well-being.
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Our attraction to the arts may be driven by an innate desire to use our brains in ways that make us feel good.
The author in Nairobi as part of a research project in 2019 into art and community health.
Photo by Georges Mboya
In times of crisis, the role of art becomes more central to our lives, like it or not.