The Arts May Offer Many Ways to Heal
This article is from our NORC Now newsletter. Subscribe today.
NORC assessed about 375 arts engagement studies conducted over the last 20 years for a report commissioned by The William Penn Foundation.
January 2021
Engaging with any form of art may result in a wide range of positive outcomes for individuals, social groups, and communities in the short and long term. NORC researchers assessed about 375 arts engagement studies conducted over the last 20 years for a report commissioned by The William Penn Foundation.
The term “arts engagement” refers to creating or consuming performing arts, visual arts, crafts, creative writing, and film/television/media in traditional arts venues as well as public spaces, community spaces, homes, and online.
The studies suggested that arts engagement can promote civic behaviors such as voting and volunteering, help shape and reinforce people’s cultural identity, enhance communities’ livability and economic vitality, and bridge relationships across races, generations, and political divides. The arts may also effectively treat depression, anxiety, and neurological and physiological disorders, offering a potential option for easing hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This article is from our flagship newsletter, NORC Now. NORC Now keeps you informed of the full breadth of NORC’s work, the questions we help our clients answer, and the issues we help them address.