Reading Diane Nakamura’s Citizen column on self-isolation and those with brain injuries caused me to think about how art in its many forms can be helpful during stressful and trying times such as these.
In a recent Arts North blog post, Art is GOOD for you, I shared the strong evidence, laid out in a number of studies from around the world, that art helps your mental and physical well being.
According to Koenraad Cuypers, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the study discovered that there was a definite correlation between participating in cultural activities - like creating art or attending concerts - and having increased rates of good health, satisfaction with one’s life and lower rates of anxiety and depression in both men and women.
Specifically, 84 per cent of those who participated in at least four art-related activities reported good health and 91 per cent reported high level of satisfaction in their lives.
Not just for mature adults, as a 2014 study at the University of Arkansas shows us. The impact of students taking a field trip to an art museum, shows that the visit changed how the students thought and made them feel better. More than 10,000 students were surveyed and the majority of them (70 to 88 per cent) retained factual information from the tours. Students also displayed improved critical thinking skills, as well as gains in tolerance and historical empathy following the trip.
That’s great but how does that help while I am stuck in my house, sheltering in place, self-isolating and social distancing? What good is it if all the venues are closed?
The answer is to get virtual. Many art galleries have virtual tours. I believe they have always had them as part of their mandate to offer art to the masses. It’s just now, with the pandemic protocols, they are being re-discovered.
Stream online concerts. Rolling Stone.com has a list of streaming concerts available - at a cost, of course. I was invited to see an amazing female jazz vocalist from the UK. I still need to get her info so she can featured on the CFIS FM radio show; the Jazz Café. From home, I recently “attended” some house concerts including two homegrown talents, Amy Blanding and Mike Smith.
If that isn’t your deal, make something.
Hearing the chorus of, “I am not creative, I’m no artist, I can’t draw, paint, sculpt, sew, etc. etc.,” I call BS. We are, as human beings, inherently creative. We have been endowed with an imagination far greater than our animal brethren.
According to an October article in the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, Girija Kaimal, a professor at Drexel University and a researcher in art therapy, says the act or creating anything, ANYTHING, helps you imagine a more hopeful future.
“Art's ability to flex our imaginations may be one of the reasons why we've been making art since we were cave-dwellers, says Kaimal. It might serve an evolutionary purpose. She has a theory that art-making helps us navigate problems that might arise in the future.
Her theory builds off of an idea developed in the last few years — that our brain is a predictive machine. The brain uses ‘information to make predictions about we might do next — and more importantly what we need to do next to survive and thrive,’ says Kaimal.
When you make art, you're making a series of decisions — what kind of drawing utensil to use, what color, how to translate what you're seeing onto the paper. And ultimately, interpreting the images — figuring out what it means.
Plato believed that the arts were powerful shapers of character, able to stir up emotions and influence our behaviour. Meanwhile, G.W.F. Hegel saw art’s role as giving intuitive, sensuous benefits to the viewer by showing us what divine and human freedom can look like.
It turns out that the philosophers were right. Art can make you happier. Art can nourish both your body and spirit - and it can do it in ways that a salad or supplement never could.
So, for the good for your health, go create or look at some art.
