The art of wellbeing: How Europe is using culture for its health benefits
The Jameel Arts & Health Lab, a collaboration between Community Jameel, the World Health Organisation (WHO), NYU Steinhardt and CULTURUNNERS, explores the role of the arts on wellbeing with the aim of shaping policy to improve human health. The collaboration marks WHO's foray into the field of the arts and follows a comprehensive report published by the organisation in 2019 about the impact of culture on preventing mental and physical disease.
Christopher Bailey, co-director, Jameel Arts & Health Lab and health lead at WHO says, “The arts are complimentary to more than medical approaches. It’s no different than recommending good behaviour or exercise. They’re a core part of what makes us human.”
A year ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the world’s leading public health agency, focused its attention on an area outside its traditional remit of emerging epidemics, chronic diseases and primary health care – the arts.
With the creation of the Jameel Arts and Health Lab, it launched a pioneering project aimed at exploring the positive effects of the arts on health and wellbeing alongside classical medical treatment, and with the aim of encouraging more initiatives in this area in Europe and beyond.
“The arts are complimentary to more than medical approaches,” says Christopher Bailey, the WHO’s arts and health lead in New York. “It’s no different than recommending good behaviour or exercise. They’re a core part of what makes us human.”