#ArtsCan Seminar Event: Arts, Society & Public Health

This event will provide an overview of the latest research into the role of the arts on health behaviours and outcomes at a population level in the UK. The event is being run as part of a Wellcome Fellowship project led by Dr Daisy Fancourt from the Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London.

Arts, Society & Public Health
This project (running 2017-2020) is using nationally-representative cohort data collected over the past 70 years to look at associations between arts and cultural engagement across the lifespan and a range of factors relating to mental and physical health. It is comparing the effects of different types of arts and cultural activities and exploring how responses vary in different populations.

The research questions are being guided by a steering group comprising representatives from Public Health England, Public Health Wales, NHS Health Scotland, Arts Council England, Arts Council Wales, Creative Scotland, the Royal Society for Public Health, the What Works Centre for Wellbeing and the Scientific Advisory Council to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The seminar event
The aim of the seminar event is to support arts organisations in keeping up to date with new research into arts and public health and to provide them with data that could inform the development of new programmes of work.

The event will include:
1.       A summary of the opportunities available for the arts to support public health in the UK.
2.       An overview of new findings from 2017-2018 including research into the protective effects of arts engagement and cultural participation on social adjustment, depression, dementia.
3.       An introduction to the psychological and physiological pathways underlying these effects.
4.       A discussion session on priorities for future research.

When: Tuesday 3rd July 2018,  9.30am-1.30pm
Where: Institute of Education, University College London
Who: This event is for representatives from arts organisations. Due to a limitation on spaces, each organisation can only send one representative. For this event, priority will be given to representatives from organisations. Individual freelance artists can register and will receive confirmation 1 month before if there are spaces available.

The event free of charge and tea and coffee will be provided. The event is being funded by the Wellcome Trust.

For any questions, please contact Dr Daisy Fancourt, d.fancourt@ucl.ac.uk