“Great nature and art boost the immune system by lowering levels of chemicals that cause inflammation that can trigger diabetes, heart attacks and other illnesses.”
“Creative placemaking not only lifts up a neighborhood physically with murals and sculpture and investments in artist housing, galleries and theaters, it helps strengthen the local economy, as eye-catching storefronts, new cultural activities and intriguing installations bring in customers and attract new businesses. It increases a sense of community identity and local pride. It can make a neighborhood a more interesting, livable place.
But most importantly arts and culture are a powerful force that help shape a neighborhood’s narrative — telling the story of what kind of place it is, changing its reputation and its trajectory.”
“The arts and cultural industries provide jobs, attract investments, and stimulate local economies through tourism, consumer purchases, and tax revenue. Perhaps more significantly, they also prepare workers to participate in the contemporary workforce, create communities with high appeal to residents, businesses, and tourists, and contribute to the economic success of other sectors.”
“Arts and the creative class, historically, have made good cities great. The broader we are, the better we are. Art inspires, ignites thought and conversation, and leads to tolerance and change. We are proud to be a part of the dialogue in our community.”
‘According to Bach, studies have looked at the economic development benefits of art, but only just recently have there been wider examinations of the effect of art on a community’s sense of place. The Knight Foundation’s Soul of the Community initiative surveyed some 43,000 people in 43 cities and found that “social offerings, openness and welcome-ness,” and, importantly, the “aesthetics of a place – its art, parks, and green spaces,” ranked higher than education, safety, and the local economy as a “driver of attachment.”’
“Shining a spotlight on art and cultural relationships and business provides a better understanding between people of diverse nations. The quest for better communications through the arts help define businesses. By associating with the arts, businesses have discovered that their brands are enhanced and increase their reach and in the end their profitability.”
“Instead of simply treating the outcomes of bad habits, design allows us to create interactions that systematically motivate people to make sustainable changes in their own lives. We can design interventions that target not only the physical body, but also the mind, social situation, environment and internal motivation that drive behavior change.”
“Fundamentally, human nature revels in the creative side of life. Art chronicles the history of humans and some of the very finest individual accomplishments of the human race. Unlike museums of natural history, art museums document and enshrine human creativity. Without creativity, without innovation, there’s nothing new in our future.”
“This report features award winning new hospital architecture, hospital art and their impact on the health of patients.”
“Research has shown the thoughtful use of colours, lights, art, texture and performing arts in hospitals can aid a person’s recovery, and create a lasting impression to everyone who visits and works there.”
“Arts and culture are a powerful force. Powerful enough to transform physical space, spur economic activity and tell a story about a place. They can change the reputation and the trajectory of a community.”
“You cannot touch art without touching values: values about home and family, work and play, the individual and society, nature and the environment, war and peace, beauty and ugliness, violence and love.”
“The scientific field of neuroesthetics – which explores the biological basis of artistic experience – is quite new, but it has already advanced beyond the trite conclusion that nice art creates nice moods.”
“The “Arts & Economic Prosperity IV” study is a valuable document with tons of detailed information drawn from 182 geographical regions.
Southeastern Pennsylvania’s cultural organizations and their audiences have a combined impact of $3.3 billion on the region’s economy.
Arts and culture supports 44,000 full-time equivalent jobs throughout the region.
Arts and culture returns $1.04 billion in household income to Southeastern Pennsylvania residents.
Cultural tourism is a valuable asset for the region, injecting nearly $230 million in direct spending into the economy.”
“The role of art in healthcare settings goes back at least as far as the ancient Egyptians. Apparently aware of the fact that images of nature induce healing, they painted murals of nature, usually with blue ceilings to represent the sky and green floors to represent the earth, in their healing temples.”
“The activities of the arts and culture sector and local economic vitality are connected in many ways. Arts, culture, and creativity can
-improve a community’s competitive edge
-create a foundation for defining a sense of place
-attract new and visiting populations
-integrate the visions of community and business leaders
-contribute to the development of a skilled workforce”
“Since health is a fundamental personal and social asset, it is essential that outreach and support programs devoted to healing, or the restoration and maintenance of good health, be more fully integrated into the fabric of the community.”
“Art is a powerful agent for change and there’s a lot that firms can learn from the power of the image to drive sustainability.”
“The benefit of art in healthcare is in the experience of the art. While it may be dismissed by some as merely decoration, decades of research in Europe and the United States concludes otherwise. The role art plays in an overall strategy to produce healing environments has been measured against health and economic outcomes.”
“The ultimate goal is to make sure patients [and their families] have the best health-care experience possible, which includes providing an environment that is conducive to healing.”
“Rural America is undergoing a profound economic restructuring, and many small towns have turned to their cultural and arts assets as sources of new economic development and a hook for retaining and recruiting young talent. Regional site visits to Wilson and Kinston, North Carolina, provided ideas and inspiration for arts revitalization strategies.”
“The arts are essential to the health and vitality of our communities and our nation. They improve the quality of life in our cities and town. They enhance community development; spur urban renewal; attract new businesses; draw tourism dollars; and create an environment that attracts skilled, educated workers and builds your third millennium workforce.”
“Arts and music education programs are mandatory in countries that rank consistently among the highest for math and science test scores, like Japan, Hungary, and the Netherlands.”
“Hospitals are turning to art as part of a broader push to create a healing environment as studies show that visual art can help reduce stress for patients and increase satisfaction with care. Dr. Iva Fattorini and Jennifer Finkel, who are both involved with art at the Cleveland Clinic, discuss on Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero.”
“Adam Bryant discusses the amorphous nature – but extreme importance – of healthy company culture. Bryant writes the feature Corner Office for The New York Times. “
“The culture of a community significantly shapes debate and action that lead to development. Local culture also presents unique options for locally based economic, social, and other developments. Local understandings and interpretations of a community’s history reflect past events that feed into and are partially driven by the demands, sentiments, and interests of those in the present. This makes it crucial for community development practitioners to consider the cultural importance of efforts to improve local well-being.”
“Such “evidence-based design,” which draws its principles from controlled studies, is the great hope of professionals who want to upgrade the look and feel of medical centers.”
‘Art is not just for artists or relegated to galleries and museums. As Dr. Chu shared during her visit, “Nobody helps make a community distinctive and vital more than the arts – the new paradigm is arts and community vitality are so critical to one another – the arts are there for everyone, they are a part of our everyday lives.”‘
“In the journal “NeuroImage”, Emory University School of Medicine researchers found that parts of the brain involved in making decisions, taking risks and experiencing pleasure — the ventral striatum and the hypothalamus — are activated more from viewing paintings than photographs that represent similar themes.”
“Placemaking is the art of developing a public space that attracts people. In the process, it almost always pays economic dividends back to the community.”
“Places that incorporate local heritage and artists attract more tourists, and residents feel a stronger connection to such places. The Arts and Economic Prosperity III report from Americans for the Arts states that annual support in the arts generates a 7:1 return.”
‘Guest Curator Dr. Gary Vikan and Collaborator Dr. Charles “Ed” Connor discusses the new The American Association for the Advancement of Science exhibit “Beauty and the Brain Revealed.”‘ | AAAS/CARLA SCHAFFER
“More specifically, there is evidence that engagement with artistic activities, either as an observer of the creative efforts of others or as an initiator of one’s own creative efforts, can enhance one’s moods, emotions, and other psychological states as well as have a salient impact on important physiological parameters.”
“It starts with the inherent value of culture, continues through all the social and educational benefits and only ends with the economic.”
“The inherent value of culture, its contribution to society, its symbiotic relationship with education and, yes, its economic power (but in that order) … this is what we call the holistic case for public support of arts and culture.”
“More than anything, art and positive distractions provide a connection to humanity. Art is a very human thing, done by another human being and created for others to enjoy. It has, therefore, an innate wonder and warmth.”
“If your buddies give you a hard time for preferring Monet over the Mets, you can hit them with this: a study finds that an appreciation of culture and the arts can do wonders for a man’s health, including lowering his risk of anxiety and depression. “
“Communities with visible, thoughtful public art thrive because people want to be there. Public art invigorates our sense of place and excites us about where we are. In turn, art bolsters civic fundamentals: pride, economic growth and population retention.”
-OKC artist Romy Owens makes case for further investments in public art.
“The arts give people a creative voice, a path to leadership, a way to express shared values, and to create a shared experience working together toward meaningful outcomes. There is consensus among social scientists, historians, educators, and activists that it is exactly these kinds of experiences that helps to build community. Working in and through the arts becomes another way to help people meet the economic, ecological and social challenges of the future.”
“Donald Urquhart is one of the two Art Co-ordinators for the new Mental Health and Community Facility and in this piece he tells us about his inspirations, and the evidence he draws on, for the value of integrating contemplative aspects of nature within art into the healthcare environment.”
“Beauty and the Brain: A Neural Approach to Aesthetics,” enlists the public as participants in a Johns Hopkins University study that looks at why the human brain is attracted to artwork.
“Research shows that volunteering will help you live longer, and that should be cause enough to make you happy. But there are other reasons as to why volunteering makes you happier… here are 3 leading theories as to why:”
“Mayors, arts and cultural policy-makers and economic developers would be better served by taking a more localized, place-specific approach to arts initiatives.”
“But it is really since the 1980s that the links between art and health have been seriously explored. Today a growing number of patients, health and social care professionals, researchers, policy makers, architects and planners recognise that the arts are integral to health.”
“In the process of seeing a painting, the image is formed when the light enters the
eyes and is converted into an electrical signal which is taken by the optic nerve to
other regions of the brain. The image is then reconstructed into motion, depth,
colours and forms.”
“Promoting workers’ well-being isn’t just ethical; it makes economic sense. Fostering positive inner lives sometimes requires leaders to better articulate meaning in the work for everyone across the organization.”