Advancing Arts as Essential to Health and Wellbeing

One of the key outcomes of our HeARTcare Symposium in 2025, was to engage policy makers and funders to position the arts as essential to health and human well-being. 

Last month, leaders from across the arts, health, research, and policy sectors convened to examine how the arts can be more effectively integrated into Canada’s health and wellbeing systems. Anchored by the research of Professor Daisy Fancourt (University College London/WHO), the dialogue explored an international evidence base that positions the arts as the “forgotten fifth pillar of health” alongside diet, sleep, exercise, and nature.   

The discussion focused on transitioning the arts from a “nice-to-have” aesthetic addition to an essential, evidence-based component of Canada’s national health prevention and treatment strategies.  

Key Outcomes and Next Steps: The Four Branches of Action Identified  

Advocacy and Awareness: Launching a public awareness campaign to shift the perception of arts as a health behaviour (alongside sleep, diet, exercise, and nature).  

Training and Research: Creating training where medical professionals learn the ethics of the creative world, and artists are trained for clinical environments.  

Mapping and Needs Assessment: Creating a comprehensive national audit of existing programs to help identify ”holes” in the silos and to avoid duplicating efforts.   

Canada Wide Collaboration: Engaging Municipal, Provincial, and Federal governments to ensure the arts are embedded in policy at every level and across multiple departments (health, humanities, sciences, engineering, arts, etc).  

This work represents a significant opportunity to: 

● Improve health outcomes and system sustainability  

● Strengthen communities and social cohesion  

● Position Canada as a global leader in arts and health innovation