Over the past two decades, there has been a major increase in research into the effects of the arts on health and well-being, alongside developments in practice and policy activities in different countries across the WHO European Region and further afield. This report synthesizes the global evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being, with a specific focus on the WHO European Region. Results from over 3000 studies identified a major role for the arts in the prevention of ill health, promotion of health, and management and treatment of illness across the lifespan. The reviewed evidence included study designs such as uncontrolled pilot studies, case studies, small-scale cross-sectional surveys, nationally representative longitudinal cohort studies, community-wide ethnographies and randomized controlled trials from diverse disciplines. The beneficial impact of the arts could be furthered through acknowledging and acting on the growing evidence base; promoting arts engagement at the individual, local and national levels; and supporting cross-sectoral collaboration.

Through a series of vivid case studies, Music and Creativity in Healthcare Settings: Does Music Matter? documents the ways in which music brings humanity to sterile healthcare spaces, and its significance for people dealing with major illness. It also considers the notion of the arts as a vessel to explore humanitarian questions surrounding serious illness, namely what it is to be human. Overarching themes include: taking control; security and safety; listening; the normalization of the environment; being an individual; expressing emotion; transcendence and hope and expressing the inexpressible. With an emphasis on service user narratives, chapters are enriched with examples of good practice using music in healthcare. Furthermore, a focus on aesthetic deprivation contributes to debates on the intrinsic and instrumental value of music and the arts in modern society. This concise study will be a valuable source of inspiration for care givers and service users in the health sector; it will also appeal to scholars and researchers in the areas of Music medicine and music Therapy, and the Medical Humanities.

This edited volume explores the role of arts and meditation within educational settings, and looks in particular at the preventive and developmental function of the arts in educational contexts through different theoretical perspectives. Encompassing research from an array of disciplines including theatre, psychology, neuroscience, music, psychiatry, and mindfulness, the book draws insights relevant to a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary fields. Chapters are divided into thematic sections, each outlining praxes and emphasising how educating within and through the arts can provide tools for critical thinking, creativity and a sense of agency, consequently fulfilling the need of well-being and contributing towards human flourishing. Ultimately, the book focuses on the role the arts have played in our understanding of physical and mental health, and demonstrates the new-found significance of the discipline in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With its interdisciplinary and timely nature, this book will be essential reading for scholars, academics, and post-graduate researchers in the field of arts education, creative therapies, neuroscience, psychology, and mindfulness.

What is the role of a public art collection in a university context? How does art impact teaching, research, and well-being? The art works in the Aalto University Campus buildings and outside areas form a unique and inspiring art collection. The art works focus on societally vital topics, such as gender balance, sexuality, sustainability, quantum physics, reflection, growth, materiality, beauty, and beyond. In this book, international top academic writers review the art collection through specific themes including how art encourages business studies or can public art be provocative. The book is richly illustrated with citations by the artists and anonymous comments by the users of the university spaces. The book unfolds in layers the processes of public art with facts and stories. Look at the pictures, read the citations, dwell on the articles and research more from the literature lists! This book is a must for art lovers and people who want to develop the use of public spaces.

New interdisciplinary research in education Given the current demands on schools and the challenges they face in an increasingly complex and volatile world, new and visionary educational paths and new educational concepts are urgently needed. Interdisciplinary collaboration within the curriculum can open up new possibilities for education. EDU:TRANSVERSAL No. 02/2024 presents transversal research findings, offers insights into innovative projects, and introduces interdisciplinary practices from schools and universities. The contributions deal with topics such as the digital image archive as a teaching and learning space for classes in art or German and the potential of memes for promoting critical Internet use in art and politics classes. Second issue of this periodical on transversal research in education State of the art of interdisciplinary research in didactics With contributions by Alessandra Bellissimo, Julia Fromm, Eva Greisberger, Maria Mogy, Gudrun Ragossnig, Eva-Maria Schitter, Birke Sturm, Petra Weixelbraun, and others