The White House has issued its yearly proclamation declaring October National Arts and Humanities Month: “The arts and humanities bring people together and show us that we have more in common than we have differences — helping us see each other, understand one another, and unite in common cause. Our artists and scholars embody the very spirit of America: the drive to create and connect, the pursuit of excellence, and the boldness to be truthtellers and change seekers. During National Arts and Humanities Month, we celebrate the artists and scholars who lift us up, speak to our souls, and shape who we are as a Nation.”
This year’s theme, “The Arts Within You,” aims to inspire active participation in fostering positive change and promote a vibrant, inclusive society through the arts. The Americans for the Arts points out how the arts can help you cope with our ever-changing world and participating in art builds resilience, encourages adaptability and builds hope during difficult times.
- Creative expression through art allows you to process emotions and adapt to life’s changes,
- Art activities reduce stress and anxiety, promoting mental well-being,
- Engaging with the arts fosters emotional connection and offers inspiration and comfort,
- Experiencing diverse art forms broadens perspectives and nurtures empathy for different viewpoints,
This is not just hearsay or wishful thinking. Serious amounts of research have gone into this topic and are paying off. A recent book, Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross, tells us in seven chapters, about the positive impact of the arts on everyone’s mental health. The authors offer scientific proof through the emerging field of neuroarts that the arts have the power to transform our health and our minds and overcome “serious physical and mental health issues.” The authors write, “so many studies have shown the swift physiological benefits to our healthy from the arts and aesthetics, that we debated calling the book, Twenty Minutes on Art.”
Susan Magsamen is the founder and executive director of the International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab), Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics, a pioneering initiative from the Pedersen Brain Science Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her body of work lies at the intersection of brain sciences and the arts—and how our unique response to aesthetic experiences can amplify human potential.
Ivy Ross is the vice president of design for hardware product area at Google, where she leads a team that has won over 225 design awards. She is a National Endowment for Arts grant recipient and was ninth on Fast Company’s list of the one hundred Most Creative People in Business in 2019. Ross believes that the intersection of arts and sciences is where the most engaging and creative ideas are found.
At the beginning, the authors offer readers a yard stick on measuring their aesthetic awareness and appreciation with a small quiz with answers and then they start into laying out the foundation for their statements. In Chapter 1, The Anatomy of the Arts, the authors explain how your senses work starting with your power of scent and taste and touch which are chemical reactions in your body that trigger emotions and memory and sensations. Then the authors go on to explain how the brain is constructed: the two hemispheres and different lobes and all of the regions working together; the power of the limbic system; the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. They conclude by saying that the science of the neuroarts supports and relies on neuroplasticity, enriched environments; the aesthetic triad; default mode network that are referred to throughout the rest of the book.
Chapters 2 and 3 on Cultivating Well-Being and Restoring Mental Health emphasize the power of bringing the arts into your life on a regular basis to relieve stress. The book cites a study at Drexel University that making art for as little as 45 minutes reduces the stress hormone cortisol, no matter your skill level or experience. Drawing, doodling and being creative can actually help to restore mental health especially for those who have experienced trauma or are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). “The arts enhance brain function by changing brain-wave activity and accessing the nervous system. The arts offer us a way to slow down, feel our emotional pain, and let it unfold, revealing a changed but full human being.”
Chapters 4, 5 and 6 on Healing the Body, Amplifying and Flourishing reveal that a range of medical conditions can be improved upon by engaging in the arts and that the design of healthcare places with light and greenery can have a huge impact on patients’ recoveries. They emphasize that where and how we learn is just as important as what we learn. About flourishing, they quote a poem by IN-Q underlining that if you can change your story, you can change your life. They cite another scientist: “there are ways to train your brain to flourish: one is creative writing, including an exercise where you imagine your best future self then write about your life as if it has already happened.”
Chapter 7 on Creating Community is vital to all of us and is the last step so to speak in bringing us together in creating organizations where art and culture are practiced. “….without strong and lasting connections to family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors, without the relationships we create over a lifetime, we cannot survive, let along thrive.” This is a book rich in the science of the brain, how art impacts the brain and is substantiated by research from universities and leading experts around the world who are working on this topic.
Neuroarts is a rapidly growing group field. At every turn, the research supports the importance of the arts and arts organizations in our daily lives – the arts can be a nourishing and enjoyable every day activity, such as the sides of a main meal, which is how Side of Culture got its name and is still growing today.
By Victoria Larson
