Making Art is Good for You

Did you know that Stanford University has recently adopted an Arts By Prescription program? Students can go to their health service and receive a prescription for free “doses” of art and cultural activities to improve their mental and emotional well-being.

This unusual program is the result of long-term research on the health benefits of arts participation (see Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us, by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross). The book is dense with complex research studies, but its message is clear: involvement in the arts is good for you.

For artists struggling to create in our chaotic times, I’m happy to say that the brain research also applies to the process of making art. This confirms my own experience as an artist coach. When artists tell me how they struggle to make art while bombarded by the news, I tell them to turn off the TV and get back to the studio. When artists are paralyzed by FOMO as they follow the social media feeds  of their friends, I suggest they get out a sketchbook and go for a walk. When artists are recovering from rejections from a seemingly indifferent art world, my advice is the same: get back to making art.  

Here are a few examples of the health benefits of art-making: 

• Art-making reduces stress and anxiety
• Engages multiple cognitive skills (problem solving, spatial reasoning, etc.)
• Improves attention span and memory
• Improves mood and a sense of well-being
• Provides a space for exploring and expressing emotion

So when you are in doubt about the value of your work in the marketplace, be selfish. Do it just for you. 

Give yourself a healthy dose of art. You don’t even need a prescription.

Note: Many thanks to Pamela Coddington Samaniego for highlighting this research at her recent talk for  Marin Arts.