ARTS IN HEALTH

What is Arts in Health?

Arts in Health (also known as Arts in Medicine or Arts in Healthcare) incorporates the arts (visual, performing, literary, music, and dance) to support and enhance the continuum of care and plays a critical component in overall health and well-being. This multi-disciplinary approach to health is both an effective and creative way to positively impact health outcomes in both in-patient and outpatient healthcare settings as well as community settings. Arts in Health also boosts mental, emotional, social, physical and brain health.

Specifically, participating in the art-making process:

• Reduces stress, anxiety and depression.
• Improves self-confidence, self-awareness and self-empowerment.
• Encourages positive self-care skills.
• Provides a supportive setting to socialize, decrease loneliness and social isolation.
• Is an effective preventative tool to manage symptoms of chronic pain and illnesses, and diseases such as Dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease.
• Improves and maintains neuro-spatial functions, memory processing and problem solving as we age.
• Fosters emotional resilience, confidence, and personal growth.
• Is a healthy outlet and distraction tool to heal from physical, emotional, and psychological issues.

Through Arts in Health, along with other therapeutic interventions, we can discover, explore, practice, and connect not only with others, but with ourselves.

Our Arts in Health Programs

Our Arts In Health programs are for EVERYONE!

• We offer an inclusive and nurturing space based on respect and compassion
• We specialize in adapting art for people of all ages, abilities, and diagnosis
• We provide you with a wide range of art materials to explore (paint and ink, drawing materials, air-drying clay, beading, fibre arts, wood burning, lino/soft cut printing and more)
• We work together with you to experiment, create, and finish art projects and assist you in your creative process/journey
• We incorporate the art-making experience with mindfulness skills training for health and wellness benefits
• We bring people together to have fun, bond, and foster social connection

Our Arts in Health Programs are focused around three main areas:

• Exploring a wide range of art materials and learning new skills and techniques
• Fostering relationship enrichment and creating meaningful connections with self and others during the art making process
• To learn mindfulness-based skills through arts activities

Our Arts in Health Programs Include:

Individual and Pairs Sessions

Making art is one way that we can connect with ourselves, express our emotions, and be mindful.

Our private, one-on-one or pairs art making sessions offer you a safe and welcoming space to explore the creative process on your own or with another individual. Each session is tailored to your needs, abilities and interests.

These sessions are for individuals and pairs:

• Who would like to explore a range of art skills, techniques and materials in a safe and non-judgmental environment and work on a goal or specific art project
• Who want an art-class alternative (homeschool, sensory issues in school-based classroom settings, larger community-based art classes)
• Who need one-on-one attention and to alter art activities to suit specific abilities (people with diverse learning, physical, cognitive, and mental abilities)
• Who wish to strengthen and foster personal growth or relationship enrichment (between partners, parent-child or youth, friends, family members, patient/care aid)
• Who want to incorporate art as part of their healthcare plan, to learn mindfulness-based techniques through art for self-care, decreased stress and anxiety, boost brain health, and manage chronic pain and conditions

Small and Large Group Sessions

We provide small to large sized group art making sessions on-site in our art studio or off-site in the community (businesses, schools, other organizations). We tailor and customize the art making experience based on the area of the interests, goals and abilities of participants.

These sessions are group and organizations such as:

• Educators/Administrators (professional development for teachers, educational assistants, other conferences)
• Private companies/organizations (group relationship enrichment, self-care, team building)
• Family/friend/caregivers groups
• Groups of individuals with specific and diverse medical, cognitive, social, physical and emotional needs

Wellness Workshops

Our Arts in Health Wellness Workshops offer art-making experiences for our community in our art studio and other community locations. They may be geared towards a specific population or art activity, but they all share one objective: to infuse art into our lives for wellness!

Upcoming Workshops

• Pain In The Arts Workshop for Chronic Pain and Illness (Date TBA)
• Words to Live By for Caregivers (Date TBA)
• Paint without a Paint Brush for Parents and Teens (Date TBA)
• Plaster Hearts for Couples (Date TBA)
• Art Journaling for Women (Date TBA)

Previous Wellness Workshops:

• Words to Live by
• Wow Journals for Educational Assistants
• Alcohol Ink for All Ages
• Introduction to Watercolours

For more information about our Arts in Health Programs we invite you to contact our Director of People and Culture, Meg Neufeld. For bookings, please contact our Client Care Team.