ARTS&WELL-BEING
Your ticket to better health!
Many of us have sensed that watching a dance performance or being immersed in live music improves our mood. Now there’s data proving that access to arts and culture has measurable benefits to physical and mental health. For instance, going to a concert or visiting a museum just once per month can reduce the risk of depression in older adults by 48%. Adolescents who participate in the arts are 24% less likely to experience depression, and 22% less likely to engage in substance use.
NJPAC is a national leader in integrating the arts and well-being, reimagining the role of a performing arts center as a driver of community health. Committed to investing in the lives of all people, NJPAC Arts & Well-Being creates diverse, accessible and inclusive programs that enhance the health and well-being of our community.
Similar to exercise and good nutrition, taking a dance class, singing in a choir or coming to a show at NJPAC is beneficial. The arts are your ticket to better health!
big ideas
performing arts centers are community health centers
Performing Arts Centers enhance the health and well-being of their communities through their productions, programming and outreach.
Did you know? Attending a performance 1 – 2 times per month has similar health value as exercising 1 – 2 hours per week.
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arts education is public health
Youth who engage in the arts have improved mental and psycho-social health outcomes.
Did you know? Students who engage with the arts are 24% less likely to experience depression and 22% less likely to engage in substance use.
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arts & culture are essential to well-being
Access to arts and culture is a social determinant of health.
Did you know? Research now shows that arts participation is a positive health behavior, so providing equitable access to the arts is among NJPAC’s top priorities.
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arts in healthcare
Arts in Healthcare humanizes the healthcare experience by integrating the arts into healthcare settings for patients, families and staff. The evidence-based program brings artists into RWJBarnabas Health locations to perform in public spaces, activate staff cultural events and facilitate art making at the bedside with patients to improve well-being, patient satisfaction and build community trust.
- Artists in Residence: Our specially trained artists visit patients at the bedside to improve their medical experience and provide opportunities for joy and creative expression.
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Culture Connects: Artists and performers bring vibrant and interactive programming to staff cultural celebrations.
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Music in the Lobby: Local musicians perform regularly in hospital lobbies for patients, staff, visitors and the community.
Arts in Healthcare programs have reached more than 26,000 people through the RWJBarnabas Health system.
artsrx
ArtsRx, our arts-on-prescription program, was built in partnership with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and enables participants who receive referrals from healthcare and community organizations to fill “prescriptions” for arts and cultural events in the City of Newark and throughout the region.Our program is the first in the US to have an insurance carrier as a key partner. ArtsRx recognizes engaging in arts and culture as a social determinant of health, prioritizes creating equitable access to the arts and contributes to the local creative economy by supporting a network of local arts organizations.
To learn more about ArtsRx, email us at ArtsRx@njpac.org.
6 referral sources
12 arts organization partners
200+ people have completed the ArtsRx program
1900+ local arts activities have been attended by participants and their guests
More than $150,000 has been paid to local arts organizations through program and event registration fees
100% of ArtsRx participants say they are more likely to engage in the arts after completing the program
96% of ArtsRx participants say the program has a positive impact on their well-being
health promotion
We’re engaging with health partners to produce events and programs that use the arts to address local health priorities and increase access to health services and information. Our focus is on using the arts and creativity to address the state’s most pressing needs including mental health, social isolation and maternal health.
The arts offer a vehicle to create empathy, change minds and communicate health messaging to drive positive behavior change. As a trusted messenger and community partner, NJPAC can improve access to health and wellness information, promote a broader public understanding of the value of arts/culture and increase access to the arts, which drives health equity.
Programs
The Lullaby Project pairs new and expecting parents with teaching artists to write and sing personal lullabies — supporting maternal health, aiding childhood development and strengthening the bond between parent/caregiver and child. Songwriting workshops take place on Zoom over a period of six weeks. Birthing parents and caregivers can sign up any time in the third trimester of pregnancy or up to six months postpartum. Participants receive a digital recording of their lullaby plus the opportunity to perform in the annual celebratory Lullaby Project concert at NJPAC. Referral partners include Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey.
Ritual4Return (R4R) is a 12-week homecoming project for citizens returning to the community after incarceration. R4R uses theater, mindfulness practices, drumming, movement, mask-making and storytelling to support individuals in addressing and overcoming the dehumanizing effects of incarceration. Following each 12-week session, participants perform their rite of passage at NJPAC and engage community members in an educational workshop and celebratory meal.
Photovoice is a program that employs photography, discussion, writing and the display creative work with the aim of empowering people through sharing their lived experiences. Presented in partnership with Rutgers University School of Public Health and Mason Gross School of the Arts, this program was created to serve the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) community.
NJPAC Arts & Well-Being serves as the primary arts provider for programs focused on student mental health at Rutgers University—Newark (RU-N). We provide in-person mental health workshops that leverage creativity and mindfulness; offer a self-paced, non-credit-seeking online course about creativity to enhance mental health and reduce stress; and welcome RU-N as a referral partner for ArtsRx.
Each spring, NJPAC hosts dozens of health vendors and Newark arts organizations to provide a day of wellness and creativity for our community. Attendees can do important in-person health screenings like blood pressure and glucose testing, experience a sound bath, learn about local service organizations and get moving with short dance classes throughout the day. NJPAC provides a welcoming and friendly environment for all people to learn about how to live their healthiest lives and about resources available to them.
Each summer, thousands of concert goers flock to NJPAC for our free concert series, Horizon Sounds of the City. Arts & Well-Being brings two features to the series: first, on-site messaging that in choosing to a concert, attendees are doing something good for their health. Second, our healthcare partners provide on-site, real-time screenings and schedule off-site appointments for attendees.
Arts & Well-Being helps curate wellness programming during the North to Shore Festival in June. Spanning maternal health to food insecurity, and other pressing health issues in New Jersey, we partner with local service organizations to facilitate access to their services and promote the utilization of arts-based methods to improve well-being.
access: online education
Arts & Culture for Community Health: Education & Skill Building Series (ACCESS) is grounded in the belief that all people deserve equal access to the arts, and that all forms of art or creative activity can enhance health and well-being. These courses serve to increase access to education on arts in health topics with an emphasis on practical knowledge and skills that can immediately be applied in arts, health, community and other settings.
arts in health research lab
The Arts in Health Research Lab, a collaboration between NJPAC and Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts and the School of Public Health, harnesses the transformative power of creativity to improve health outcomes through research, education and community engagement. The lab conducts research and nurtures pedagogy and programming that explores the ways in which the arts contribute to measurable improvements in physical, social and mental well-being.
Recent Publications
NJPAC Arts & Well-Being is made possible through foundational support from:
Additional support provided by:
Merck Foundation, Music Man Foundation, Celia Lipton Farris and Victor W. Farris Foundation Home Community Fund, M&T Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Vitaquest International, S. Dillard & Adrienne Kirby Family Philanthropic Fund, DoorDash and Lyft