Volume 1, Issue 4

June 2009

The Crucial Role of Arts in improving the health and social wellbeing of communities

ISSN 1835 – 2776

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    Volume 1, Issue 4.1

    Diversionary Space Project at Royal Melbourne Hospital Short Term Dementia Ward
    Author: Darren Steffen, Roger Alsop
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    Volume 1, Issue 4.2

    Arts and Health: From Economic Theory to Cost-Effectiveness
    Author: Raoul Craemer, Senior Consultant, ACIL TASMAN PTY LTD
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    Volume 1, Issue 4.3

    Friends on the Farm: Reciprocal Relationship Building Through the Arts
    Author: Jan Deans, the University of Melbourne
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    Volume 1, Issue 4.4

    Healing Threads
    Author: Merrin Eirth, Head of Drawing, VCA Art, The University of Melbourne
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    Volume 1, Issue 4.5

    Interdisciplinary Models for Collaboration Between Artists and Architects: Empowering Community, Inspiring Urban Renewal
    Author: Dr Steffen Lehmann, UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Urban Development for Asia and the Pacific, The University of Newcastle, NSW
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    Volume 1, Issue 4.6

    The role the Arts Can Play in the Wellbeing of Older Individuals Living in the Community and in Care
    Author: Julie Gross McAdam MA, Mac.Art Program Director
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    Volume 1, Issue 4.7

    Big hART at John Northcott Estate: Community, Health and the Arts
    Authors: Dr Peter Wright, Dr David Palmer, Murdoch University, WA
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    Volume 1, Issue 4.8

    Pathways – An Innovative Approach to the Use of Participatory Art Practice in Primary Care
    Authors: B Platten, K Harris, Professor M Kagioglou, The University of Salford, Salford
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    Volume 1, Issue 4.9

    Emotional Intelligence and the Performing Arts: Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries

    Authors: Ralf Rauker, Edith Cowan University, WA, Associate Professor Chris Skinner; University of Notre Dame, WA; Robyn Bett, Murdoch University, WA

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    Volume 1, Issue 4.10

    Arts, Health, Community Resilience and Healing: Responding to Natural Disaster
    Authors: Dr Rosa Maria McManamey, University of Tasmania, Jantina Maria Sparkes, Regener8 Project Coordinator, St Marys, Tasmania
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    Volume 1, Issue 4.11

    Memoirs of the Forgotten Ones: Theatre and Drama with Adult Survivors of Childhood Trauma and Abuse
    Author: Sarah Woodland
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    Volume 1, Issue 4.12

    Memoirs of the Forgotten Ones: Theatre and Drama with Adult Survivors of Childhood Trauma and Abuse
    Author: Sarah Woodland

Today there is increasing awareness that the arts play a crucial role in improving the health and social wellbeing of communities.

Over fifty years ago, the World Health Organisation proposed that health is not merely the absence of illness but a complete state of physical, mental and social wellbeing dependent on a range of elements physical, psychological and social. We now know that cultural practice is significant among these factors. Whether we observe performing artists allied with youth workers to tackle homelessness, the rise of patient-focused architecture in public hospitals, or the use of arts education to promote health in schools, we see compelling evidence that the arts can have a considerable impact on social and institutional life.

As the therapeutic and transformative possibilities of arts programs continue to attract interest from practitioners in diverse fields, the importance of multi-disciplinary partnerships can often go unrecognised or undocumented in research, policy and analysis.

This issue reflects work in the arts and health that crosses disciplinary divisions, promotes knowledge exchange and inspires creative partnerships. the refereed papers present evidence of how the arts contribute to community health and provide approaches which embed the arts within health policy and planning.