The Healing Power of the Arts
By Kaci Baez
Explore the healing powers of creating and viewing art, according to the latest research.
Engaging with the arts has a proven positive impact on health and lifespan, according to a growing mound of research. Art and creativity can help people heal and process experiences and feelings that are too difficult to put into words. From children to cancer patients to veterans with PTSD to those with debilitating neurological diseases like Parkinson’s, art has been shown to have a widespread beneficial impact on health.
In recent years, arts engagement and “cultural prescriptions” have been offered as non-drug therapeutic treatments that could be used to reduce cognitive decline and increase well-being and quality of life for people of all ages, in both hospital and non-hospital settings.
Arts engagement can be classified as “active” or “receptive.” Active participation in the arts involves creating art, such as dancing, expressive writing, journaling, creating music, crafting, or otherwise making art in some way. Receptive, or reactive, arts engagement is the act of attending or viewing art in some form, such as going to the theater, attending a concert, visiting a museum or art gallery, or simply taking in art in some form.
Many experts on the health benefits of the arts, including “neuroarts” experts, say that more widely used cultural and artistic interventions can reduce healthcare costs, promote economic development, and strengthen communities.
In 2019, the World Health Organization compiled more than 3,000 scientific publications that documented the role of the arts in improving physical and mental health, preventing and managing illness, and promoting well-being, and has since officially recommended that creative approaches be used alongside routine clinical care to improve health.
Both active and reactive participation in visual arts, theater, literature, and music has been shown in research to improve well-being and quality of life, reduce the risk of illness, accelerate disease recovery, slow disease progression, increase life expectancy, reduce grief and negative emotions, improve immune system response, reduce stress, improve self-confidence, reduce loneliness, promote positive social interactions, improve brain functioning, and reduce depression and anxiety, among other numerous benefits.
The Benefits of Creating Art
A new 2024 U.K. study of 7,182 participants published in Frontiers in Public Health found that crafting and engaging in a range of creative activities boosts mental health more than having a job.
“Crafting and other artistic activities showed a meaningful effect in predicting people’s sense that their life is worthwhile,” study leader Helen Keyes said in an article.
A 2019 study from the University College London published in the BMJ Journal of self-reported arts engagement of more than 6,000 adults aged 50 years and older found that a higher engagement with the arts, such as attending museums, theaters, or concerts, was linked to a 30% decrease in death risk compared to those who did not engage with the arts. The association between a longer life and the arts remained even after factors such as heath, age, and wealth were accounted for.
The study’s co-author, Professor Andrew Steptoe, of UCL Epidemiology and Health Care, explained, “One might think that people who go to museums, attend concerts and so on are healthier than those who don’t. Or are wealthier, more mobile, and less depressed, and that these factors explain why attendance is related to survival. But the interesting thing about this research is that even when we take these and many other factors into account, we still see a strong association between cultural engagement and survival.”
New Findings on the Impact of Simply Viewing Art
Until recently, the beneficial therapeutic impact of simply viewing art, as opposed to creating art, has been widely undervalued and under-researched. A recent study from 2024 published in The Journal of Positive Psychology confirmed that just viewing visual art can significantly enhance well-being, regardless of whether it’s done in a gallery, museum, hospital, or even virtually. The study examined decades of research, providing for the first time a robust overview of how and why viewing art boosts wellness. A variety of art, including figurative, abstract, modern and contemporary paintings, photography, sculpture, and installations were found to boost well-being.
The review of 38 previously published studies covering a total of 6,805 participants was carried out by a team of psychologists from University of Vienna, Trinity College Dublin, and Humboldt University of Berlin. The research highlights art’s impact on eudaimonic well-being, or, a sense of meaning, personal growth, and purpose in life. The study’s findings make the case that viewing art, a low cost and accessible activity, can and should be used more often to support public and mental health.
“People often think of art as a luxury, but our research suggest that viewing art—whether as a hobby or as a targeted health intervention—can meaningfully support well-being,” said MacKenzie Trupp, lead author and researcher at the University of Vienna and Radboud UMC, Donders Institute, in an article. “By re-framing art as a low-cost, accessible well-being resource, this research opens up exciting possibilities for integrating art into everyday environments and public health strategies.”
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Trupp, M. D., Howlin, C., Fekete, A., Kutsche, J., Fingerhut, J., & Pelowski, M. (2025). The impact of viewing art on well-being—a systematic review of the evidence base and suggested mechanisms. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2025.2481041