Making a Better World: How artists improve our health, wealth and happiness
Going to an art gallery on a weekend, meeting with your pals at a gig or heading to the theatre for a special occasion.
Far from being simply the ‘cherry on top’ that we only experience as a treat once in a while, engaging with the arts, and the artists who make it happen, really does improve the quality of our lives.
Both physically and mentally, we know that art can bring about truly positive and effective change: in the prevention of ill health and in the promotion of health, to develop social cohesion and reduce social inequalities, to encourage healthier behaviour, to reduce sickness, anxiety and stress and to build confidence and explore solutions to problems in even the youngest members of our society.
But how often do we stop to acknowledge the positive influence artists have on our lives and recognise the scale of the impact they have on our wellbeing?
In Summer 2023, Scottish Contemporary Art Network (SCAN) launched a new campaign called Artists Make a Better World, to encourage policymakers to support contemporary art and share with the public the many ways that artists contribute to Scotland’s wellbeing.
SCAN connects and champions Scotland’s contemporary art community, with a body of 300 organisational and individual members working at the heart of communities from Shetland to the Scottish Borders and from East Lothian to the Western Isles.
The campaign aimed to highlight the role that artists have in improving our everyday lives, and the impact that learning skills from artists and taking part in creative activities can have on health and happiness.
Images by Alexander Hoyles
Campaign posters for Artists Make A Better World on the streets of Scotland
Hosted by Impact Arts – a SCAN member organisation – the launch of the campaign was a jumping off point for conversations focused on spreading the good news (and making it as simple as possible to do so).
The aim was to ask supporters – SCAN members and members of the public – to show support for the simple and positive message that Artists Make a Better World.
SCAN created a number of resources including interviews with artists and marketing materials like badges and posters, sent out to members, partners, funders and made available on their website to empower and support everyone to share the message in whatever way worked for them.
Over the Summer, MSPs were invited to visit some of SCAN’s 300 members across the country, from artists’ studios to galleries and workshops and to take back new knowledge and positivity about art to Holyrood.
The Launch
Was hosted by SCAN Chair and Impact Arts Chief Executive Fiona Doring
Took place at their new home The Boardwalk in Glasgow
Featured the chance for supporters to print their own campaign message with Glasgow Print Studio and Print Clan
SCAN also aimed to connect people with the exhibitions, events, research and activities that their members carry out every day and encouraged people to share their support for artists and arts organisations using the campaign badge and the hashtag #ABetterWorld.
“This summer from Dumfries to Stromness we’ve been getting the message out that artists make a better world. We're showing policy makers in communities across the country what artists and art organisations contribute to Scotland.
“MSPs have been visiting studios and galleries and meeting artists. We know this is a tough time for many families and we're sharing the way that artists and culture can make everyday life richer and their skill sharing and expertise can make artists of us all.”
- Moira Jeffrey, Director of Scottish Contemporary Art Network
#ABetterWorld
#ABetterWorld
#ABetterWorld
Artists Make A Better World had a few simple messages to get across.
Artists make us healthier and happier
Findings have shown that the arts influence the social determinants of health, support child development, encourage health-promoting behaviours, help people experiencing mental illness and support care for people with acute conditions.
- What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? World Health Organization, 2019’ (From the Fact Files)
Recent research has shown definitively that participating in artistic activity, making art, or just visiting a gallery or museum improves our health and wellbeing, with positive outcomes throughout our lives.
Grampian Hospitals Art Trust (GHAT) is an award-winning arts and health organisation which exists to enhance the wellbeing and experience of all who spend time in NHS Grampian hospitals.
“There’s a sense of generosity to our endeavour and it feels beneficial to us as artists as well our our communities.”
- Laura Aldridge, Sculpture House
Artists make artists out of everyone
“We offered activities which not only drew on our own visual arts specialisms, but also resources that the local community could offer. For example, we provided a clay table where people could come and make a large model of the Sculpture House out of clay.”
- Laura Aldridge
Sculpture House. Image by Alexander Hoyles.
Through the art they create and the influence they have on our society, artists pass on specialist skills and encourage everyday creativity. This can look like a lot of different things, such as dancing, writing, painting or playing an instrument. Artists also bring people together to participate in the arts, and provide support to each other and people studying or working towards a professional career in the arts.
Sculpture House in Paisley is a great example of an arts organisation that does all these things and more.
Run by Laura Aldridge, Nick Evans and James Rigler, and a SCAN member, they make artists out of everyone through workshops and teaching, aiming to bring together professional artists and members of the community, and turn the house into a living work of art.
Find out how two Scottish organisations came together to capture the personal and creative experiences of people and communities from across the country, told through photography, drawings, film, music, painting, crafts and the written word.
“The conversations of our experiences in Scotland have pulled us together and helped us support each other in such a predominantly white country and introduced actions like creating spaces for the POC community.”
- Christian Noelle Charles, artist
Artists make communities stronger
‘65% say their local area would lose something of value if the area lost its arts and cultural activities.’
- Scottish Opinion Survey 56 Degree Insight, December 2020 (From the Fact Files)
Artists become activists in their communities, supporting and advocating for others to create space and celebrate pride in what they do and who they are.
Born in New York, USA, and now based in Glasgow, Christian Noelle Charles’ work is multi-faceted, often made in collaboration with fellow Black creatives, and explores Black feminine representation and self-love.
Christian Noelle Charles. Image by Alexander Hoyles.
“I want to create a potent visual metaphor for the reclamation of agency and identity. This transformation evokes conversations about the complex interplay between material culture, historical representation, and the significance of personal and collective stories.”
- Aqsa Asif
Artists make our everyday world
‘Visual and performing arts in healthcare environments help to reduce sickness, anxiety and stress.’
- Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing - All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing Inquiry Report, 2017 (From the Fact Files)
How many things have been made more exciting, more fun, more inspiring or more successful because they were created by an artist?
Bobby Niven. Image by Alexander Hoyles.
All over Scotland, everyday things are more beautiful, more effective or more exciting because an artist has got their hands on them. Even when not making art, artists use their training to craft good stuff from imagination and determination, from a pop song to a streetscape to a pastry in your local coffee shop.
Bobby Niven’s Palm House, created for Edinburgh Art Festival and located in Johnston Terrace Wildlife Garden in the capital, was originally envisioned as ‘a space for production and exchange, inviting exploration, delight and wonder.
“I was excited to experiment with ways to animate the building, to give it life and energy, and to create an inspiring space for people to think and make.”
- Bobby Niven
Artists make space for different voices
Aqsa Asif. Image by Alexander Hoyles.
‘Cultural diversity is a driving force of development, not only with respect to economic growth, but also as a means of leading a more fulfilling intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual life..’
- World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, United Nations, 2020 (From the Fact Files)
Artists tell their own stories and create spaces for others to speak and be heard. Across the country, artists are challenging dominant narratives, revealing hidden histories and amplifying new perspectives. Artists can lead change, and art can change minds.
Aqsa Arif is a Scottish/Pakistani artist based in Glasgow, who works across poetry, photography, installation, printmaking and film to explore the surreal nature of the human psyche. Her work is underpinned by her dual cultural heritage, mirroring the experience of many people in Scotland today.
Aqsa’s latest work is a multimedia installation Anam ki Almari (The Trophy Cupboard) which opens in October 2023. “By delving into rituals, traditions, and the collaborative act of creation,” she says, “I aim to prompt discussions about the ways in which marginalised communities have harnessed these elements to counter subjugation.
“This approach invites visitors into a discourse surrounding the power of cultural expression as a means of overcoming the legacy of colonial dominance.”
Learn about how Drake Music Scotland is forging a path for more disabled artists to work in the mainstream, achieve more ambitious artistic ideas – and ultimately diversify the music sector by providing intervention at key career stages for artists and promoting inclusion in the sector.
How to get involved.
The campaign to acknowledge and celebrate the positive impact artists have on our wellbeing doesn’t end with the Summer. It’s up to all of us to continue to recognise the benefits of the arts and the people who make it happen.
Here’s three things you can do to help spread the message that Artists Make a Better World.
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Being a SCAN member allows you to connect with other visual art professionals across Scotland, promote your projects through the SCAN channels, contribute to SCAN activity and policy, with free access to most member-only events and full voting rights at our AGM, and to stay informed about visual arts activity in Scotland.
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WHAT A FEELING! | ACT I at Edinburgh Printmakers runs until 17 September, plus Christian Noelle Charles performs at Take Me Somewhere in Glasgow on 14 October.
Anam ki Almari (The Trophy Cupboard) is at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum from September 2023 to January 2024.
Find out what’s on at The Sculpture House
Explore SCAN’s own list of what’s on across Scotland in the visual arts scene.
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Collective voices can make a big difference. You can let people know that you support artists and all the things they do for us by sharing the facts with your friends and colleagues, adding the campaign badge or link to your emails or social media and getting in touch with your MSP.