Nonprofit organizations devoted to arts and culture can be found in nearly every community in the United States. The most well-known of these organizations are long-lived and financially stable, but turnover has been substantial within the nonprofit sector overall. While some institutions are perceived as permanent fixtures in each landscape, there is considerable churn, as well. This study focuses on key factors associated with the mortality and long-term survival of nonprofit arts and culture organizations (ACOs). The dominant factors associated with long-term survival relate to revenue and assets. This study represents the initial piece of a larger research effort, The Initiative for Sustainable Arts in America. Drawing on National Center for Charitable Statistics data sets, based on IRS Form 990 data, this study includes comparative, statistical portraits of 20-year trends (1990-2010) in the numbers and types of nonprofit arts organizations present in 6 U.S. metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit/Ann Arbor, Miami, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Across these regions, several patterns emerge from the data: while the majority of ACOs active in 1990 were also active in 2010, each area also saw a substantial number of new ACOs originating within this time period. In fact, in 2010, for every ACO that existed in 1990 and survived until 2010, approximately 2.6 new organizations had been created since that time, on average across the six regions. The study also uncovers interesting differences within the group of ACOs located in these six regions. For example, Atlanta and Boston both saw a much higher percentage of organizations moving into their regions compared to the other four regions, especially Chicago and Detroit. Overall, the organizational survival rates are roughly comparable across the regions for all three time intervals (1990 to 2000, 2000 to 2010, and 1990 to 2010). Factors related to revenue and assets emerge as important correlates of organizational survival; both total revenue and net assets are strongly associated with continued operations. The right capitalization structure is also important for organizational survival: having some - but not too much - revenue from contributions is associated with a higher probability of continuing operations during the years studied. In this research, organizations that raised 30 percent to 40 percent of their total revenue through contributions were most likely to survive, whereas those that raised 90 percent or more of their revenue from contributions were most likely to close. This analysis also considers the impact of non-financial factors on organizational survival, namely artistic discipline, geographic location, and total density of ACOs in any given ecosystem. Humanities organizations tend to have higher survival rates, while literary arts, dance, and multidisciplinary organizations tend to have lower survival rates in some years, but not all. Surprisingly, the analysis revealed that ACOs located in the suburbs might be more likely to survive than organizations located in urban areas. All told, this investigation uncovered critical new insights related to the survival of arts and culture organizations in major metropolitan areas. These results lay the foundation for a more comprehensive assessment in the future about how more fine-grained factors enable nonprofit ACOs not only to survive, but also to thrive in today' dynamic operating environment.


The worldwide upsurge in social polarizations generates intercommunity tensions that challenge the social fabric of urban neighborhoods and undermine the relationships between their members. Because community arts can foster the creation of connections between people that would not have been in contact otherwise, they are often perceived as being powerful tools to foster community resilience. Through a multiple case study approach, this article describes how three community arts projects, carried out in two socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods of Montreal (Canada), influenced the social relationships between participants from diverse ethnocultural backgrounds and generations. Using participant observation and arts-based data collection methods (photography, video, and arts productions), the authors examine how the three projects illustrate (a) the interactive processes at play, (b) the transmission and hybridization of stories and images of adversity and resiliency, and (c) the access to a collective voice.


Self-regulation skills programs focusing on emotional regulation and executive functioning and arts programs have separately demonstrated reductions in internalizing and externalizing disorders and academic difficulties and have shown improvement in self-regulation skills. This study sought to evaluate participants in Prodigy (a program synthesizing arts and self-regulation skills) regarding changes in mental health symptoms and academic performance. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest was conducted with 108 at-risk adolescents and their parents. Significant reductions in internalizing and externalizing mental health symptoms and increases in academic self-efficacy with positive trends in improved academic achievement were noted. Future research regarding the potential of these two modalities is discussed.


California has long been famous for its creativity, the engine driving everything from the entertainment industry to the tech sector. But decades of budget cuts and a laser focus on core subjects have pushed the state' public schools to cut arts education to the bone over the years.

Now, two years of trauma during a pandemic that' stolen more than a million lives and the fresh horrors of a spate of mass shootings, experts say, underscore the pressing need for more paths to social-emotional learning in schools. That' a key reason former Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner, supported by many educators and artists, is championing a mandate to restore arts and music education to the public schools, as a way to help children grapple with their feelings about growing up in a time of tragedy.

“Talk to any social worker, the first thing they do with a child in trauma is ask them to draw a picture,” said Beutner, who stepped down after three years at LAUSD. “The arts are a key part of the therapeutic process.”

Once a classical value within a comprehensive education, the arts have long been scrubbed in favor of math and science. But the pandemic has shined a bright light on the need to help children cope with trauma and find ways to heal, experts say.

“This could be the moment, a crisis can become an opportunity,” said Beutner, who shepherded the nation' second-largest school district through the worst of the pandemic. “The state has a windfall. Why not use some of it to restore some of what we've lost?”

That' why Beutner is pushing hard to bring the arts back, putting an initiative on the November ballot that would require the state to spend between $800 million and $1 billion extra each year out of its overflowing general fund for arts and music education. That' almost four times more than the total budget of the National Endowment for the Arts. His campaign has been successful thus far, gaining a million signatures in less than 90 days, more than necessary to be on the ballot.

Arts education also got a boost when Gov. Gavin Newsom earmarked $1 billion toward afterschool enrichment programs as part of his Expanded Learning Opportunities Program for the coming school year, pending budget negotiations with the Legislature. “We believe in STEAM, not STEM,” said Newsom. “That' the 'A' that' missing, arts and music.”

Can the arts help kids recover from deep pandemic trauma? Can creativity and self-expression boost social-emotional learning at a time when mental health is at risk? Beutner, for one, sees arts education as a path out of the alienation of the last few years.

“If we can get the arts back into the classroom it can make a huge difference,” said Beutner, who had a personal epiphany when he discovered the cello in the fifth grade. “It' a way out of pandemic isolation, a way to connect with other people and gain a sense of belonging.”

As the youth mental health crisis deepens into a national emergency, with the Texas school shooting dominating the headlines, child suicide on the rise, and the pandemic still upending much of society, there is a renewed focus on finding ways to boost student well-being amid the chaos.

Two years of trauma have scarred us all. The pandemic has certainly been the most traumatic collective event of our lifetime, experts say, giving rise to a mental health crisis in which children may be among the most vulnerable. The excruciating uncertainties of life today have left many children feeling raw and anxious. Very young children may not even remember a time before the pandemic.

“Now more than ever, it is imperative that we find creative ways to help children with healing,” said Nora Zamora, executive director of social and emotional learning for the Alameda County Office of Education. “Trauma and healing-centered approaches that address the needs of students, as well as youth-serving staff, are not only innovative, they're critical to creating the conditions needed to address pandemic trauma.”

“You have to meet kids where they are,” said Beutner, who sees the arts as a powerful instructional tool. “It' an existential challenge. The arts help engage children. Whatever you are teaching, you have to make it interesting first. If you lean into the arts or music or animation, you can weave it through the numeracy and the literacy.”

If you want to educate the whole child, you have to tap into their social-emotional core and let them express themselves, experts say. Giving young people a chance to let it all out can help lower stress and raise self-esteem, paving the way for learning.

The arts can be a safe haven for children to face big emotions, to channel fears and frustrations into acts of creativity. Under this initiative, school leaders would choose what to spend the money on, deciding which artistic pursuit, from dance and drawing to animation, best suits the needs of their students.

“So many of our kids have been struggling with mental health issues during this pandemic,” said singer Katy Perry, one of the celebrities helping campaign for the initiative. “Arts and music education plays a critical role in supporting the mental health of young people. Now more than ever, it' important we give all kids access to this critical resource.”

A sense of connection to the past can help ground young people in times of turbulence, experts say, helping them feel more resilient even as the social contract feels increasingly strained. The long, hard grind of chronic uncertainty has been linked to a rise in anxiety and depression, research suggests, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“The arts can connect students to a world - past, present and future - full of history, innovation, expression, representation, beauty, power and inspiration,” said Chad Jones, executive director at the San Francisco Arts Education Project. “All of these things have always been important for educating the whole person, but through the pandemic, it seems that much more important to find ways to truly engage with students and make them feel connected to something outside themselves.”

Musician/producer Quincy Jones, also among the broad coalition of artists who back the proposal, has said that music saved his life. That' not hyperbole, experts suggest. Art can be an oasis for children who are struggling with myriad emotional upsets.

“There are countless examples of troubled souls finding a way through their tragedy or trauma by turning their energies into something creative,” said Rush Rehm, professor of classics at Stanford. “Working and thinking creatively provides more than an outlet. It allows one to play, to drop out of the normal or escape from the traumatic.”

Another proponent, actress Issa Rae, star of HBO' “Insecure,” views arts education as a way to champion equity in an increasingly unequal society. Schools serving low-income students, especially students of color, are far less likely to have robust arts programs, experts say, than more affluent schools. Only 1 in 5 public schools have a dedicated arts teacher, according to Beutner.

Rae sees this initiative as a way to reach children who lack the exposure to arts and culture that families of means often take for granted. Enrichment shouldn't be limited to only those who can afford it, some say, particularly at a time when the gap between the haves and the have-nots has never been wider. Finding their voice can be a game-changer for children who feel unheard.

“This ballot measure will help define the promise of the next generation of storytellers by ensuring all California students get the high-quality arts and music education they deserve,” Rae said. “It will especially benefit students from communities of color, who often experience a lack of access and equity in access to arts and music education.”

The effort to restore arts and music education to a more prominent place in the school curriculum is long overdue, some say, and there' no better time to do so than a period of unprecedented surpluses coupled with children in dire need of social-emotional enrichment.

“There has never been a more important and relevant time for the arts,” said Julie Baker, executive director of the California Arts Advocates, “to go to work to heal and provide empathy, hope and joy for a nation divided and recovering from the dual traumas of systemic racism and a global pandemic.”


The Pao Arts Center is a two-year old cultural institution in Boston' Chinatown. It was founded on the assumption that the Chinatown community has offered social and health benefits to Asian- American and Asian immigrant residents in the Boston area due to its community cohesion. Chinatown faces rapid and powerful gentrification that disrupts community cohesion and could, in turn, cause harmful social outcomes. However, the arts can strengthen people' connection to their community, thus mitigating the damage done by gentrification. In this study, a highly interdisciplinary team of social and health scientists, humanities scholars, and community residents observed and analyzed art performances and collected data from artists and audiences, community members, and key informants to generate a methodologically innovative case study. The resulting narrative largely confirms the assumptions on which the Pao Arts Center was founded and lends support to the thesis that The Center builds community cohesion, although the study also identifies nuances and complexities. The impact of this new Center on the whole community remains to be seen.


Cultural activities might serve as a buffer to the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health. Frequencies of participants' cultural activities in terms of participation in digital cultural offerings or self-initiated cultural activities during the pandemic are examined, and whether prior cultural engagement and valuing of culture have an impact on this participation. It is explored whether both forms of cultural activities are directly connected with psychological well-being, namely, optimism concerning COVID-19, and whether this relationship is mediated by autonomy, relatedness and aesthetic experience. Regression and mediation analysis were calculated (N=398). Both cultural activities were related to increased aesthetic experience and perceived autonomy, but only participation in digital cultural offerings was connected to increased perceived relatedness. Relatedness, in turn, was connected to increased optimism. The results reflect the protective function of cultural activities on psychological well-being, demonstrating the importance of cultural life in times of adversity.


This within-subjects experimental study investigated the influence of the arts on cortisol for economically disadvantaged children. Participants were 310 children, ages 3-5 years, who attended a Head Start preschool and were randomly assigned to participate in different schedules of arts and homeroom classes on different days of the week. Cortisol was sampled at morning baseline and after arts and homeroom classes on two different days at start, middle, and end of the year. For music, dance, and visual arts, grouped and separately, results of piecewise hierarchical linear modeling with time-varying predictors suggested cortisol was lower after an arts versus homeroom class at middle and end of the year but not start of the year. Implications concern the impact of arts on cortisol for children facing poverty risks.


Research on children' drawing has focused primarily on the challenges they face in depicting reality on a two-dimensional surface. As they get older, their depictions become increasingly realistic. However, the development of drawing also reflects children' increasing ability to surmount another challenge, notably the constraints imposed by what they know about reality. In the course of development, children become increasingly capable of drawing creatures and objects that they have not observed and that do not exist. More specifically, they are able to imagine hybrids and other impossible entities and to depict what they imagine. By implication, the development of drawing involves two distinct trajectories: increased realism alongside a growing ability to escape the confines of known reality. Effectively, children gradually become capable of portraying the unreal as if it were real.


Indigenous communities from around the world, and particularly marginalized youth from within these communities, have not always been adequately included and valued as potential collaborators in various research processes. Instead, research has relegated Indigenous youth to subjects where adults, operating primarily from Western knowledge positions and assumptions, remain the experts. Given the role of research in informing programs and policies, the ways research meaningfully engages and includes Indigenous youth are of key concern. This article presents experiences gained throughout the duration of a study that sought to identify the knowledge, resources, and capabilities required to support the health, resilience, and well-being of Indigenous youth within an urban Canadian context. In particular, this article focuses on methods and approaches of integrating Indigenous knowledge systems throughout the research process and how this can in turn foster meaningful and transformative engagements with Indigenous youth. We argue for the importance and value of traditional cultural practices and knowledge systems and what we call ceremonies of relationships, existent within Indigenous communities around the world, and how their integration in research processes can support constructive and meaningful engagements with Indigenous youth research collaborators.


This paper challenges the orientations and assumptions underpinning policies for disadvantaged young people (DYP) in Australia. We argue that policy interventions for young people generally exhibit a binary divide, some policies fostering leadership and creative endeavours targeted on 'high-functioning' young people, especially within educational and arts milieus, while other policies, focusing on DYP, take a remedial orientation. The basis for this binary divide is, we argue, flawed social constructions of young people, constructions that pathologise or privilege behaviours, attitudes and lifestyles. The consequences for DYP are that remedial policies, designed to get and keep young people 'on track', are often ignoring deeper developmental needs. Using recent research findings from arts programmes for young people, the paper argues for a broader policy orientation, including developmental needs, to strengthen remedial policies and programmes and open the potential for pathways to resilience.


Nonprofits face increasing pressure to compete in the market, while they must maintain their civic commitment. Focusing on the arts and cultural sector, this study conducts the first large-scale, comprehensive empirical measurement of nonprofits' engagement in various roles. The article uses a previously validated 18-item role index to categorize nonprofits as primarily engaged in either civic or market functions, so that a subsequent regression analysis can identify the common characteristics of civically active nonprofit arts service organizations. The data come from (a) qualitative interviews with leaders of arts nonprofits, (b) a random national sample of more than 900 arts nonprofits, and (c) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax returns of the sample nonprofits. The findings suggest that civically active arts nonprofits have diverse networks, recognize civic engagement as the industry norm, and are consciously aware of their nonprofit status. The results suggest how nonprofits can balance their equally important market- and civic-oriented functions.


Drawing from organizational ecology, stakeholders, and resource dependency theories, this article identifies characteristics of communities that house community-oriented, civically-engaged, and socially-conscious nonprofit arts organizations. Using nationally-representative survey data of arts nonprofits combined with community census and IRS financial data, the study finds that, with few arts nonprofits in the local area, arts nonprofits are likely to act like community nonprofits. As the population of arts nonprofits grows, organizations position themselves as professional arts organizations, but when the industry gets further crowded, arts nonprofits appear to add a community focus or go back to community roots, reshaping their identities as community nonprofits.


In recent years, there has been great interest among educators in the links between arts-based learning and human development. Research initiatives of the past decade have linked arts participation to cognitive growth and academic skills, including the strengthening of long-term memory and reading ability (Gazzaniga et al., 2008), creative thinking skills, and writing fluency (Deasy et al., 2002). Arts participation has additionally been linked to positive social outcomes, including overall engagement in school (Deasy et al., 2002), increased graduation rates (Israel, 2009), and increased community engagement and pro-social activities (Catterall, 2009). In an effort to strengthen research efforts linking arts to overall health and well-being across the lifespan, the National Endowment for the Arts established an interagency task force on the arts and human development in the fall of 2011 (Hanna et al., 2011), ensuring that such research continues to inform and strengthen arts educational practice nationwide.
Although the body of research is growing that links arts participation to ever-widening developmental gains, there appear to be fewer resources available that explain the ways in which the latest research in cognitive, social, and emotional development in children and young adults may inform the instructional practices of arts educators. The following series of literature reviews aims to address the need for this particular type of information, linking current developmental research with recommended best practices for educators of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts students from grades PreK-14.
More specifically, this report is additionally intended as a resource document in the revision of the National Standards for Arts Education, ensuring that these forthcoming goals and benchmarks for learning in the arts will be developmentally appropriate and aligned with current knowledge in the field.


Over the past two decades, museums and galleries have significantly expanded the scope and diversity of programs and exhibitions offered to children, families and schools. Parents and teachers are increasingly interested in curated public play spaces for children in the early years (from birth to eight years old), and they actively search for accessibility, affordability and quality when planning young children's excursions.
In 2013, the Ipswich Art Gallery (in Queensland, Australia) developed and presented Light Play, an interactive exhibition designed especially for children up to the age of eight. Light Play promoted the use of light as a creative material for making ephemeral art through collaborative play, experimentation and discovery-based learning. As part of the exhibition, a formal research project was run as an integral component of Light Play. Our research documented the qualities that lead to successful creative play experiences for young children in art museums by examining three key aspects of the exhibition: the participants, the environment, and the program. This paper discusses the findings of that research, in relation to making financial and human resource investments in interactive and immersive exhibitions and play spaces for children in the early years.


Increasing research is promoting the need for innovative, holistic, and sustainable ways to foster resiliency and recovery in war-affected children. The Shropshire Music Foundation seeks to promote a culture of peace and unity, as well as development and recovery for children living in postconflict Kosovo. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of this program, by independent investigators, in promoting resiliency and diminishing distress in program participants. The study evaluated groups of students with no program participation, new program participants, 12 months of participation, and program graduates (N 􏰀 74). Overall, children who participated in the program at least 1 year evidenced fewer affective and cognitive disturbances than children recently enrolled. Furthermore, the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology and conduct problems was mediated by attention problems.


Art education includes activating two sources for developmental change. One resource that can be called upon to promote developmental change is external to the child, encouraged by teaching and by exposure to artworks. The other resource acts as a pacemaker internal to the child' own cognitive development, facilitated by some conception of the minds of artists and viewers. Studies show how children become interested in the intentions which give rise to artworks and to subsequent exhibition to the viewing public. A natural grasp of intention is readily activated in experimentation by psychologists and might profitably be mobilized by educators in helping children develop their ideas about possible relations between artworks, artists, and viewers.


This paper presents an analysis of music specific data generated in a national collective case study of Australian children' perceptions of the meaning and value of the arts in their lives and their descriptions of the nature and extent of their participation. Specifically, the paper reports on children' (aged 6-17 years) perceptions of this phenomenon in relation to their participation in four music youth arts sites.i Data were generated through individual artefact-elicited interviews with 25 participants across these sites. A thematic analysis of these data was undertaken and five key factors emerged concerning children' perceptions of participation in music youth arts settings. Children attribute participation in these settings to: a love of performance; a shared unity of purpose; a desire for challenge and 'professionalism'; the quality of relationships developed and sustained in these settings; and, the opportunities for individual growth and well-being that arise in these settings. Consideration is given to the implications that these five factors hold for music education in school settings.


Burns in developing countries account for significant morbidity and many occur within the pediatric population. This study investigates whether a comic book can increase burn awareness in primary school age children, both domestically and abroad. Based on demographic data regarding pediatric burns in developing nations, a comic book was developed to educate primary school age children on key risk factors regarding burn safety, including teaching children to not touch active stoves, not to light fireworks without supervision, and to "stop, drop, and roll" after burn injury. Students, aged 5 to 7 years, in both West Virginia, United States (N = 74), and West Bengal, India (N = 39), answered a three-question survey regarding these issues both before and after reading the comic book. Groups were compared using Fisher's exact test and significance was defined as P < .05. Initially, students answered 67.8 and 66.9% of the questionnaire correctly overall in West Virginia and West Bengal, respectively. These scores improved to 81.6 and 99.1% (P < .01 for each group), respectively, after reading the comic as a class. Specifically, there were significant increases in both groups for the questions regarding avoiding hot stoves (P < .01) and fireworks (P < .01). The lesson required 30 minutes total per class. The teachers reported that students enjoyed reading the comic and were engaged during the sessions. This study demonstrates that a comic book has value in teaching children about burn awareness. Comic books may be a cost-effective method as an outreach tool for children.


Over 10 years, the researchers studied community-based organizations (CBO) for young people, eventually examining the work of approximately 120 youth-based organizations in 34 different cities. A look at these organizations and the young people they serve shows that CBOs offer a means of reaching at-risk youth, and that they can have a significant impact on the skills, attitudes, and experiences of young people. Surveys of CBO participants show that they express a sense of personal value, hopefulness, and agency far greater than peers in their communities, and even greater than the attitudes of youth growing up in more representative U.S. circumstances. Follow-up studies with more than 60 participants in youth CBOs show that the majority of these young people are firmly set on positive pathways as workers, parents, and community members. Research reveals that effective CBOs are intentional learning environments. CBOs cannot be effective, however, without support from community members and other community organizations. Long-term and short-term strategies to promote involvement in CBOs are outlined. (SLD)


After-school programs, scout groups, community service activities, religious youth groups, and other community-based activities have long been thought to play a key role in the lives of adolescents. But what do we know about the role of such programs for today's adolescents? How can we ensure that programs are designed to successfully meet young people's developmental needs and help them become healthy, happy, and productive adults?
Community Programs to Promote Youth Development explores these questions, focusing on essential elements of adolescent well-being and healthy development. It offers recommendations for policy, practice, and research to ensure that programs are well designed to meet young people's developmental needs.
The book also discusses the features of programs that can contribute to a successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. It examines what we know about the current landscape of youth development programs for America's youth, as well as how these programs are meeting their diverse needs.
Recognizing the importance of adolescence as a period of transition to adulthood, Community Programs to Promote Youth Development offers authoritative guidance to policy makers, practitioners, researchers, and other key stakeholders on the role of youth development programs to promote the healthy development and well-being of the nation's youth.


Abstract In this introduction to the special issue, we describe some of the rewards and challenges of community-based arts initiatives for our discipline. We explore the inherent tensions between art and science that are reflected in community-based arts activities. We pose larger questions about researching community-based arts activities and defining the arts as a means of promoting social change. The diversity of populations, settings, and issues represented by the papers in the special issue are described and a common set of values, methods of inquiry and action are discussed.


This article reports on a multi-method evaluation of a national arts program conducted over 3 years in five sites across Canada. Statistical analysis involve growth curve modeling of five waves of data and interviews with participating youth and parents. The results indicate that high-quality arts programs have a significant effect on children' in-program behavior and emotional problems. The findings from the qualitative interviews suggest that active recruitment, removing barriers to participation, and high parental involvement enhanced youth engagement. Perceived youth gains included increased confidence, enhanced art skills, improved prosocial skills, and improved conflict resolution skills.


Community-based participatory research in public health focuses on social, structural, and physical environmental inequities through active involvement of community members, organizational representatives, and researchers in all aspects of the research process. Partners contribute their expertise to enhance understanding of a given phenomenon and integrate the knowledge gained with action to benefit the community involved. This article presents key principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR), discusses the rationale for its use, and provides a number of policy recommendations at the organizational, community and national levels aimed at advancing the application of CBPR. While the issues addressed here draw primarily upon experiences in the United States, the emphasis throughout this article on the establishment of policies to enhance equity that would serve both to increase the engagement of communities as partners in health research, and to reduce health disparities, has relevant applications in a global context.


Considering education as an ecosystem — rather than a single, independent system or agency — recognizes the interconnections between environments within and outside of schools that impact student well-being. When included as a key part of the wellness ecosystem, the arts can provide opportunities for students to express themselves and their emotions, build relationships with peers and mentors, and process and heal from trauma. This resource from the Arts Education Partnership provides an overview of policies and actions at the local, state and federal levels that impact the health of this ecosystem and collaboration across agencies. It is designed to be a conversation starter, and the 10 Questions for Reflection and Action can help you further explore this vision for your community.


In this article the authors explore the relationship between concepts of identity and the purpose, process, and products of youth media arts organizations. Since the explicit mission of these organizations is to work with adolescents to explore and represent identities, the authors develop our understanding of how organizations conceptualize identity development and how these concepts shape the digital film-making process and products. In a comparative case study of In Progress (St Paul, Minnesota) and Reel Works Teen Filmmaking (New York City), organizational leaders were interviewed, and a semiotic analysis conducted of the organizations' websites and other public, printed materials. The authors analyzed the films as products of these organizations' production processes to understand how these organizations define identity and what these definitions mean for how they do their work with youth. They found two distinct conceptualizations of identity: identity as community building, and identity as individualization. Unpacking these different conceptions helps us to understand how youth media arts organizations shape the identity development process and what is made possible for participating youth. This work can also lead us to more sophisticated models of adolescent identity development, particularly for non-mainstream communities who have often been saddled with dominant cultural models that do not quite fit.


Social determinants of health are defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play that affect a wide range of health and quality-of-life-risks and outcomes [i]. In other words, they are situational factors that influence the quality of and the access to healthcare and education, economic stability, the built environment, and the social aspects of a community. Through policies, practices, and other interventions there are many efforts across local, state, territorial, tribal, and national levels to improve social determinants of health by addressing social inequalities (uneven distribution of health or health resources) and social inequities (unfair and avoidable differences in society and the environment that can shape health) [ii]. These interventions aim to dismantle barriers and redistribute power and resources in a more equal and equitable way.
One such way of doing this is to encourage and promote programs that foster attributes such as social cohesion and inclusion, empathy, conflict resolution, communication, bonding, and critical thinking. These skills can be integral to shining a light on power imbalances and deescalating growing inequities. One type of programming in which these attributes, and many others that play a role in similar prosocial behaviors, are often developed, is programming involving the arts.
Art has a long history of being used as a vehicle to spark change, social impact, and civic engagement. From art installations that shine light on the unhoused community and the refugee crisis, photography projects reflecting the impact and faces of diseases like addiction or depression, community murals encouraging residents to vote, or grassroots programs bringing neighbors together to foster cohesiveness, art is woven in to many threads of our society, yet frequently with the same goal - to elevate voices and lived experiences, and to bridge connection across communities.
The Arts & The Role They Play
What comes to mind when you think of the arts? Maybe it'…
Music, dance, theatre or other forms of performance-based art
Visual art such as paintings, sculpture, photography, and more
Poetry, novels, and other forms of literature
Cultural festivals, concerts, community events, or museums
Digital art such as graphic design, animations, or film making
No matter what came to mind - no answer is wrong. While the arts tend to be understood within these five categories, the concept of the arts is fluid. This means that the many styles, forms, and interpretations of art are the product of imagination and creativity across many cultures. The truth is, the arts tell a story of our world and the people in it - threading our lived experiences together by honoring and celebrating each one.
We know that at the core of health and well-being is our ability to recognize and respond to emotions, build relationships, and make healthy decisions for both ourselves and for how we engage and support others. It' a process called social-emotional learning - and it' a part of everything we do.
The arts help us to tell stories and raise awareness, understand perspectives other than our own, and brings us closer to others. From activating the senses to the stimulation of imagination and cognition, the release of emotions and social interaction, and more - the arts combine these health-promoting components in a way that activate psychological (how we think and feel), physiological (how our bodies work), social (how we connect with others), and behavioral (how we act and react) responses that lead to improved outcomes. When we connect the dots - bridging health and vehicles such as the arts - we can discover the many ways art can change our world and inspire a brighter tomorrow.
Connecting the Dots
In order to improve social determinants of health and address social inequities, we must first begin by understanding and recognizing health as social justice. By honoring diverse lived experience, challenging biases, and creating a shared understanding representative of many perspectives, we begin to strengthen relationships and become catalysts for change… the arts can help us do just that.
Research shows that the arts not only activate psychological and social responses such as improved emotional regulation and communication [iii], decreased stress, and increased pro-social behaviors (behaviors intended to benefit others) [iv], they also foster social cohesion and challenge social inequities.
The arts build social and community capital within societies and have been found to:
Foster cooperation, self-concept, and a sense of social inclusion in children, adults, families, and communities across different cultures [v]
Bridge different groups - for example, activities such as dance, art classes, and theatre, have been found to foster greater social inclusion in children and adults [vi]
Support conflict resolution through social-emotional and cognitive skills development and supporting empathy, transformative learning, and trust [vii]
Preserve cultural traditions, foster resilience, and promote positive identity development in Indigenous communities [viii]
The arts promote capacity building and skills development and have been found to:
Reduce anxiety, depression, and emotional alienation while increasing self-esteem, cultural empathy, and confidence in vulnerable student populations [ix]
Improve self-control and reduce risk behaviors for children exposed to violence [x]
Support responsible decision-making, enhance well-being, and reduce exposure to violence among adolescents living in urban areas [xi]
The arts support the creation of safe and supportive environments and have been found to:
Support restoration programs that improve the built environment and decrease levels of violence [xii]
Support the creation of spaces that serve an extended area of learning for youth - outside of the classroom and home [xiii]
The evidence is clear - the arts play a role in ensuring our communities thrive and our children have the resources, support, and opportunity to reach their fullest potential. From our classrooms to our homes - we can leverage art as a vehicle for social-emotional learning, strengthen nurturing relationships, and foster safe and supportive environments where children (and adults) can dream and grow.


Abstract Art therapy reduces trauma-related psychopathology in refugee youth. Given the added stress of COVID-19 on traumatized refugee populations, we adapted art therapy for refugee youth and their families in the virtual space. We describe program development, implementation and experientials, and clinical recommendations illustrated through two cases. Observations and feedback support art therapy as a tool to address socioemotional functioning in families who resettle as refugees and foster positive emotions, sense of self and community, confer stress coping skills, and enhance resilience. In light of the persistence of the pandemic, the unprecedented number of global refugees, and their unique needs for mental health services, virtual art therapy can expand accessibility and reach of beneficial methods to address trauma in refugee groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)


Over the past decade, under the rubric of creative placemaking, policymakers, planners and practitioners have turned to arts and culture to enliven city life and stimulate urban economies. Good multidisciplinary research has kept pace, but challenges remain. What are the missions of urban arts and culture? How can offerings and engagement become more equitable and diverse? In fashioning good policy and making funding and planning decisions, what do city leaders and advocates need to know about the location preferences of artists, arts organizations and arts participants? I review what we know and don't know to date on these questions, and close with reflections on the potential of arts and cultural research to link to broader urban theories, capitalize on interdisciplinary research and mixed methods, and integrate international research and experience in the field.


Urban and regional planners, elected officials, and other decisionmakers are increasingly focused on what makes places livable. Access to the arts inevitably appears high on that list, but knowledge about how culture and the arts can act as a tool of economic development is sadly lacking. This important sector must be considered not only as a source of amenities or pleasant diversions, but also as a wholly integrated part of local economies. Employing original data produced through both quantitative and qualitative research, Creative Communities provides a greater understanding of how art works as an engine for transforming communities.


Educational programs in the United States have traditionally offered a convergent-style curriculum based on learning facts, following instructions, and solving problems with one right answer, which frequently fails to identify divergent thinkers or meet needs of multi-ethnic or disadvantaged students. This dissertation, introducing a divergent-style creative approach to learning, expanded a previous study of students in a high-school creative writing program to include a junior college creative writing program applied in a geology course with (n=10) volunteer freshmen and sophomore students taking a required science course. The mixedmethods study explored effects on individuals' creative thinking capacities and personal qualities based on Deci and Ryan' (2002) nutriment model of competence, autonomy, and social relatedness with creative-writing interventions. The study also provided a case study of a geology classroom (n=22). Project-based creative writing, which also drew on personal interests of students, occurred for two classes, each 1.5 hours each day over 4 days. Included in the study tasks were general and curriculum-related creative activities. Pre- and post-interventions, used verbal and figural fluency assessments from the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). Ongoing qualitative assessment addressed aspects of creative activity, sense of autonomy, competence,
social-relatedness, and features of well-being, using questionnaires, interviews, and journaling
results. Data were complete on 10 student-participants with supplementary findings on 12 others.
Overall, statistical and thematic analyses from multiple data sources showed positive and
cross-validated effects on creative activity and personal characteristics. Quantitative and
qualitative findings indicated that (a) in preliminary analyses, the central n=10 participants were
typical of their larger classroom cohort of n=22; (b) baseline creative competence and treatment
effects occurred; (c) even a short creative workshop enhanced creative thinking; (d) positive
effects also were revealed regarding the experience of autonomy, competence, and socialrelatedness, and (e) well-being was enhanced, including psychological safety and feeling valued;
(f) the larger classroom environment became more motivating and empowering, with creative
work and interaction enhancing immediate science learning, and student expression of
educational and job aspirations, not previously expressed.
 Junior college populations currently show many drop-outs, yet these student-participants
anticipated ongoing education with enthusiasm. The search for a meaningful life and vocations
often conflicts with a convergent-style curriculum while divergent, hands-on approaches to
learning have been shown to motivate while honoring individual backgrounds and interests
enhancing, interconnection, competence, autonomy, innovation, and courage to move ahead in
life. More creative writing research across other subjects and educational levels is strongly
recommended.


In reviewing literature for best advocacy practices in a variety of areas—directly, adjacently, and distantly related to Creative Youth Development (CYD)—I've identified factors that can help train the judgement and inform the tacit knowledge required that Teles and Schmitt describe above.
While advocacy is a complex system of strategies and tactics, networks and direct advocates, and grassroots and grasstops, there are practices that apply across topic areas. I surface them below, and then map them to a path forward for CYD advocacy efforts.


Youth development programs are grounded in the assumption that all youth pass through a development process to adulthood and may be at risk for problems. They are characterized by an asset-based approach to meeting needs and building competencies to ensure successful transition to adulthood and take a holistic approach involving community-wide support and participation.1 With myriad purposes and goals, these programs exist outside of the confines of the school day in a range of settings, from small school- and community-based programs to those tied to large national organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs, Girl/Boy Scouts, YMCA/YWCA, 4- H, and more. Drawing from afterschool and out-of-school time (OST), we can glean a great deal about the sustainability of youth-serving programs that may have implications for Creative Youth Development (CYD).


As the field of Creative Youth Development (CYD) evolves, one key aspect of this evolution is strengthening the training provided to teaching artists. While the individual needs of teaching artists and the structure of training may vary amongst organizations depending on the organization' mission, location, and/or the communities in which they work; however, there are key components of effective professional development upon which the field can agree, and there are areas in which teaching artist training and support must be examined and shifted. It is my intent to provide an overview of some research contextualizing historical and current trends with regard to preparing teaching artists for CYD work, and then to put forth recommendations for how to deepen the work organizations do with teaching artists in hopes of implementing changes that will positively impact the organizations, teaching artists, and the field at large.


The theory and practice of program evaluations in Creative Youth Development (CYD) is as new as the field itself. However, leaning on a long history of lived experience and an ever-growing body of knowledge in the youth development sector, CYD program evaluation is not without its foundations. But because of its unique aims and organizational make-up, CYD programs have had to forge new paths in measuring outcomes and overall program success, breaking with traditional models while preserving best practices from its evaluation roots. Although the way forward is unclear, it is precisely out of this need to create new methods for knowing itself and capturing its impact that CYD programs are poised to develop innovative approaches to evaluation, and consequently have the potential to substantially contribute to advancing the field of youth development program evaluation at large.
In what follows, I give a very brief overview of the history of evaluation in the youth development field. This will help provide context for an analysis of current CYD evaluation trends, both in terms of what and how programs are evaluating. Finally, I offer recommendations and calls to action that draw attention to the continuing needs of the field.


Creative Youth Development (CYD) programs, with their grassroots and community-based origins, are a heterogeneous field of practice that has, in recent years, codified characteristics of high quality CYD through a series of frameworks. Primary examples include the frameworks featured in the Boston Youth Arts Handbook and Workbook, Massachusetts Cultural Council' Seen & Heard CYD blog, The Mosaic Model for Youth Development Through the Arts, and Something to Say: Success Principles for Afterschool Arts Programs From Urban Youth and Other Experts. These frameworks support shared understanding of the work and can be tools to help programs strengthen practice and advance along a spectrum of quality, thereby increasing engagement and supporting more positive outcomes for youth.
At the same time, CYD practitioners are committed to reflection and ongoing refinement, to programs being actively shaped by young people, and being connected to and a reflection of their communities. Therefore, CYD program practices are continuously in development.
Drawing on the youth development literature, literature specific to creative youth development, and exchanges with CYD practitioners, in this landscape analysis I discuss five current trends in CYD program development. These five trends include: Holistic Approaches Growing as Needs Grow, Collaboration Across Sectors, New Generation of Program Staff with New Approaches, Scaling by Depth, and Establishing Creative Career Pathways. This is preceded by an overview of the historical foundation of CYD program development and summary of underpinning research. Following discussion of the trends, I make recommendations for further exploration.


Social justice is a concept tied to action; it' a theory useless without action. Prominent educational scholar Marilyn Cochran-Smith (2004) defines a social justice-oriented approach as a framework that “actively address[es] the dynamics of oppression, privilege, and isms, recognizing that society is the product of historically rooted, institutionally sanctioned stratification along socially constructed group lines that include race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and ability” (p. 57). In broad terms, social justice in the field of Creative Youth Development (CYD) means working with youth from multiple identities to expand and nurture their analytic sensibilities, creativity, self-reflection, and critical thinking skills to engage youth in the work of fighting for visibility, inclusion, and intersectional justice; in addition to promoting and supporting youth culture as a mechanism to drive youths' understanding of and ability to challenge racial violence, and structural and systemic oppression. According to Montgomery (2016), radical educator and activist Paulo Freire' most famous book Pedagogy of the Oppressed inspired early visions of CYD. As Freire' writing stresses reflection and action for justice, this connection fundamentally links the work of social justice and CYD.


In 2014, a national survey of Creative Youth Development (CYD) programs was synthesized in a report titled Setting the Agenda (Stevenson, 2014). The survey found that CYD organizations overwhelmingly target the outcome of skill/mastery (100 percent) over leadership (86.8 percent), agency (67.4 percent), and civic participation (66.4 percent). To acknowledge this deficit, CYD field practitioners created the following as one of five policy recommendations, as part of the Policy and Advocacy Agenda for Creative Youth Development:
• Develop and deepen opportunities for young people to create a more just and equitable society.
o Collaborate with youth to integrate their voices and leadership into the core structures and practices of creative youth development programs and the broader sector.
o Champion creative youth development programs as spaces in which young people develop positive self-identities, recognize liberating and oppressive forces, and activate these programs' potential for impact.
This recommendation is the most significant when working with youth. As demographic shifts impact communities across the United States, urgent questions surrounding leadership and who holds power must be addressed. Understanding how power flows between youth and adult arts practitioners, researchers, educators, and administrators can redefine how knowledge is produced and programming is designed.
In this article, I use the movement of power to analyze trends of praxis relating to the sub-topic of CYD, Working with Youth. First, I reviewed youth development literature from various sectors to explore a theoretical connection between shifts in power and positive youth development. This produced four suggested trends needing power shifts when working with youth: 1) Expanding Rights, 2) Redefining Assets, 3) Identity and Representation, and 4) Governance and Leadership. I will trace these trends with a special attention to power-imbalance, along three lines: adultism, racial inequity, leadership hierarchies.
For this article, “young people” and “youth” are ages under 18, with an acknowledgement that some CYD programs extend up to the age of 21 and 24.
Lastly, although not explored in this article, it must be acknowledged that if changes in leadership structures are to exist, then the word “leadership” must be re-examined.


Art, education, health and nutrition: encouraging healthy eating at an early age is central to the World Food Programme's (WFP) goals. To this end, using art as a learning and communications tool, the program sponsors WFP in Action, a drawing contest open to youngsters 5-18 years old. Cuba has participated in the contest nationally since the 1990s, and since 2002 has sent a selection of drawings annually to the international competition at WFP headquarters in Rome.


This document is a report on the achievements, work, and needs of African American, Asian American, Latino American, Native American and multiethnic arts organizations throughout the United States. The data analyzed in this report were developed through a 1990 survey report that provided statistical data and information about the programs, goals, aspirations, and problems of a wide variety of culturally diverse arts organizations. Within the broader field of more than 1,700 organizations that characterized themselves as serving culturally diverse communities were some 543 that identified themselves as having more than 50 percent of their staffs, boards, artists, or audiences composed of members of the community they serve. This document is an illustrated analysis of the data focusing on these 543 arts organizations, supplemented by information gathered through extensive field interviews. The purpose of this report was to inform the field itself, as well as policymakers and funders about the nature, activities, and problems of these organizations. The document discusses the historical background in which growing awareness of the nation's cultural diversity has been influenced by four factors: (1) continuing cultural cross-fertilization; (2) efforts to validate indigenous U.S. art; (3) private and public sector initiatives to make a range of quality arts available to communities that have had little access to major cultural institutions; and (4) efforts to validate the artistic contributions of diverse U.S. ethnic communities. Discussion includes general characteristics and artistic discipline, ethnic communities, regional variations, critical issues, and profiles of 13 centers. A directory of the responding organizations is arranged by state. (DK)


The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (GPAC) regularly measures the health of Greater Pittsburgh' arts and culture sector. Every five years, the Arts Council reviews the sector to demonstrate its impacts on the area' citizens and economy, and identify needs and gaps that the sector might more effectively address. By comparing key data between the city, the nine-county Southwestern Pennsylvania region, and notable cities nationwide, Culture Counts 2020 is able to make cross-sector comparisons on spending, attendance, and job creation between the arts and culture sector and sports, “eds and meds,” and the full nonprofit sector. This report also addresses progress made by the arts and culture community toward indicators of public value, cultural vitality, equity, and the recruitment of visitors and talent. This report reveals that our area' arts and culture sector is healthy in many ways, but that challenges remain. Both positive trends and shortcomings present opportunities for sustained collective action to extend the public value of the arts and culture throughout our region' communities.


While public art museums seem to project an image of cultural inclusiveness, it is evident that much of the art within museums embodies the attitudes and preferences of the dominant social group (Bourdieu and Darbel 1991). The art museum functions as an instrument of cultural reproduction wherein the primary cultural narrative is crafted by the dominant social group to support a social structure grounded in principles of exclusion (Bourdieu and Darbel 1991; Bourdieu 1993; Lamont and Lareau 1988). Within the United States, research has shown that this dominant social group is largely white, educated and occupies a higher level of socio-economic status (National Endowment for the Arts 2008). Bourdieu' landmark study of cultural reproduction and cultural capital in the arts first presented the exclusive nature of cultural reproduction and ushered in a new area of research (Bourdieu and Darbel 1991; Swartz 1997).
Bourdieu' theory of cultural reproduction is grounded in the concept that the transmission of cultural capital positively affects educational outcomes and is therefore linked to positions of varying status and power within a social hierarchy (Bourdieu 1984, 1974,1979, 1977a, 1977b). Throughout his career, Bourdieu defined cultural capital in many ways; however, most scholars now agree that the concept can be defined as “institutionalized, widely shared, high status cultural signals (attitudes, preferences, forms of knowledge, behaviors, goods and credentials) used for social and cultural
exclusion” (Lamont and Lareau1988:156). Numerous researchers have shown the power 1
that cultural capital and cultural reproduction have on various outcomes such as: educational success, marital selection, political affiliation and social communication within virtual communities (DiMaggio and Mohr 1985; Lareau 1987; Martin and Szelenyi 1987; Kalmijn 1994; Rafaeli, Ravid and Soroka 2004; Tramonte and Willms 2010). However, there appears to be little emphasis on the link between cultural reproduction, cultural capital and the social construction of racialized privilege.
This paper expands upon the study of cultural reproduction and cultural capital within the field of art by utilizing the concept of 'whiteness' as a privileged social construct (Johnson and Shapiro 2003; Bonilla-Silva 2003; Frankenberg 1993; Du Bois 1996). Racialized privilege is examined within cultural reproduction and cultural capital by exploring the process by which concepts of race are reproduced through the art as well as through the social interactions connected to the art museum. I draw upon critical white studies, a part of critical race theory, which underlines the manner in which whiteness presents itself as a position of dominance within the social hierarchy of society (Delgado and Stefancic 2001, 1997). Art museums provide an avenue to explore cultural reproduction and cultural capital through the examination of the meaning and social interaction surrounding art objects (Foster 1996). While art has the potential to enrich, inspire and enlighten society (Becker 1982) it remains unclear how cultural reproduction and cultural capital found within the field of art support the social structure through the presentation of race.
Museums' reputation as both elitist institutions as well as inclusive cultural centers provides a unique opportunity to examine cultural reproduction, cultural capital
2

3
and race by investigating the link between culture and social structure (Whitaker 2009; Thea 2009; Zolberg 1984). To explore this link, I visited public art museums in a Midwestern state and interviewed numerous curators and directors. I noted how museum curators acknowledge the importance of racial and ethnic diversity within the field of art while at the same time deferring to the institution' definitions, values and symbolism centered on the European-American ideal (Berger 2005). This disparity between the call for diversity within art and art museums and the dominance of a white Western standard provided an opening for discussion into the methodology, influences and constraints involved in museum curating, exhibition and other interactions with the public and how these practices influence cultural capital and support the racial hierarchy embedded within cultural reproduction.
From these interviews, significant themes surface as to how whiteness is actively constructed within the field of art. First, I consider the manner in which cultural capital and cultural reproduction through the visual arts promotes a narrative of whiteness by the norms and values of the curatorial staff, donors and board of directors (Desai 2000). Additionally, I investigate the social construct of whiteness and the means by which the field of art continues to advance the hegemony of racial stratification utilizing Bourdieu' concept of symbolic violence (Bourdieu 1991). I follow this by indicating how whiteness is perpetuated through the social interaction between art museum and community. Finally, I conclude by acknowledging the limitations of my findings as well as suggest directions for potential research to move beyond the dominant white racial hegemony presented as legitimate culture within the field of art.


Background: The arts and health evidence base needs to be grounded by common terminology and concepts from which original research and comparative studies can be developed. The aim of this study was to elucidate terminology central to understanding the arts and health causal pathway by defining arts engagement via art forms, activities and level (magnitude) of engagement. Method: The study design was cross-sectional. International experts (n = 280) completed an online survey about the concept of arts engagement (response fraction 44%) to generate a list of art forms and activities. Responses were analysed using NVivo. Participating experts then completed a second survey to rate activities by level of engagement (response fraction 57%). Ratings were analysed via descriptive statistics and factor analysis. Results: Arts engagement can be defined by five art forms - (1) performing arts; (2) visual arts, design and craft; (3) community/cultural festivals, fairs and events; (4) literature; and (5) online, digital and electronic arts - and measured via 91 activities. 'Active' arts activities had higher levels of engagement than 'passive' activities. Conclusion: Study findings provide guidance about which art forms and activities should be included in population surveys and provide a measurement of exposure for use in studies investigating the relationship between arts engagement and health.


We conducted a three-phase study of arts participation using SPPA (Survey of Public Participation in the Arts) data going back to 1982. Using statistical methods to correct for possible survey sampling bias (including clustering, stratification, and weighting), in phase 1 we confirm previous findings that arts participation as traditionally measured is declining, almost universally. We examined both individual art forms as well as aggregate measures. In phase 2 of the paper, we exploit the unique situation of free art museums in Washington, D.C., to quasi-experimental tests and found only mixed evidence to support the expected result that higher income leads to more arts participation. The more surprising and interesting finding, with stronger evidence to support it, is that arts participation actually leads to higher levels of family income. In supplementary tests (phase 3), we found that treatment effects analysis using nearest-neighbor matching (on gender, natural log of income, education, ethnicity, urban location, and survey year) showed consistent and generally statistically significant evidence of an effect of the NEA budget cuts on arts education during the 1995/6 budget years. For every aggregated variable (combining 8, 7 or 6 of the individual categories) we saw findings consistent with the fact that students who were exposed to the reduction in arts funding (that is, survey respondents born after 1982, the “treated” group) had lower levels of arts involvement relative to their otherwise similar control matches. Finally, we examined whether arts participation is related in any way to state-level changes in opinions over time, as measured by presidential election results. We found that changes in arts participation over the 2002-2012 timeframe (the years for which SPPA data include survey respondents' location) were robust to consideration of presidential election voting margins, although respondents from more Democratic-leaning states were more likely to attend art museums and live jazz, and to a lesser extent, plays and craft fairs.


Background: Although it is well established that family-centered education is critical to managing childhood asthma, the information needs of parents of children with asthma are not being met through current educational approaches. Patient-driven educational materials that leverage the power of the storytelling and the arts show promise in communicating health information and assisting in illness self-management. However, such arts-based knowledge translation approaches are in their infancy, and little is known about how to develop such tools for parents. This paper reports on the development of "My Asthma Diary" - an innovative knowledge translation tool based on rigorous research evidence and tailored to parents' asthma-related information needs.

Methods: We used a multi-stage process to develop four eBook prototypes of "My Asthma Diary." We conducted formative research on parents' information needs and identified high quality research evidence on childhood asthma, and used these data to inform the development of the asthma eBooks. We established interdisciplinary consulting teams with health researchers, practitioners, and artists to help iteratively create the knowledge translation tools.

Results: We describe the iterative, transdisciplinary process of developing asthma eBooks which incorporates: (I) parents' preferences and information needs on childhood asthma, (II) quality evidence on childhood asthma and its management, and (III) the engaging and informative powers of storytelling and visual art as methods to communicate complex health information to parents. We identified four dominant methodological and procedural challenges encountered during this process: (I) working within an inter-disciplinary team, (II) quantity and ordering of information, (III) creating a composite narrative, and (IV) balancing actual and ideal management scenarios.

Conclusions: We describe a replicable and rigorous multi-staged approach to developing a patient-driven, creative knowledge translation tool, which can be adapted for use with different populations and contexts. We identified specific procedural and methodological challenges that others conducting comparable work should consider, particularly as creative, patient-driven knowledge translation strategies continue to emerge across health disciplines.


Background : The literature on trans youth has been dominated by etiological studies interested in trans experience as a medical phenomenon. An emerging body of literature has begun to document that trans youth are a diverse, vulnerable, yet resilient population, and to investigate the role of various sites of support such as the family, peer groups, institutions, and community spaces in contributing to or impeding trans youth's well-being.
Method: This article presents the results of Stage One of interviews (n = 24) conducted for a Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) qualitative research project based in Quebec. It studies the factors that enhance trans youth's well-being as well as the factors of oppression that negatively affect it. This paper offers a brief overview of the anti-oppressive methodology used for this project, emphasizing how CBPAR was combined with Grounded Theory (GT) methods to encourage the direct involvement of communities and the translation of knowledge into action.
Results: We present preliminary categories emerging through the ongoing axial coding process. These categories address trans youth's experiences in and perceptions of various “sites”: 1) healthcare services both for gender-related and general care, 2) other institutional spaces, 3) the family and other social circles, and 4) community spaces.
Conclusion: While much of this study's results support existing evidence on trans youth's experiences, they also provide a more nuanced portrayal of the complex ways in which recognition, as well as non-, mis-, or mal-recognition, influence trans youth's well-being at different sites. We also argue that recognition itself must be considered through the lens of intersectionality.


In this paper we examine digital storytelling as a mode of arts-inspired inquiry: in particular we consider digital storytelling as a powerful arts-inspired approach that can help researchers, practitioners, and communities understand and support indigenous and marginalized youth. Our two-fold focus is on: (1) a digital storytelling initiative that engaged hundreds of Alaska Native youth in the production of digital stories; and, (2) on findings from a subsequent pilot study which assessed the value of analyzing the young people' digital stories produced through this initiative, as windows into the worlds, identities, struggles and concerns of these particular youth. Overall, we aim to use the findings from this pilot study, and impressions from the young people' digital media productions, to demonstrate the potential of digital storytelling as a transformative arts-inspired inquiry which engages young people in processes of identity making, aesthetics, and voice.


This article explores the use of digital storytelling as a group narrative method for positive identity development in the case of African American youth residing in economically disadvantaged, urban areas. Factors such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and/or violence exposure may heighten normal youth challenges and affect identity development. Narrative tools that help minority adolescents produce agentic, coherent, affective, and adaptive self-concepts contribute to a proactive identity system and, therefore, an enhanced capacity for them to intervene in their own lives. The purpose of the afterschool digital storytelling group was for youth to gain opportunities in media production and in personal story construction. As a result, youth gained a valuable narrative medium for constructing their stories, and thus their identities, into ones of possibility, promise, and potential. Implications for helping professionals include how to use digital storytelling with youth to gain insight and understanding into a personally difficult life event.


This study reports on the multi-method longitudinal examination of a structured arts program (combination of theatre, visual and media arts) for youth, aged 9 to 15 years, from a low-income community in Hillsborough County in Tampa, Florida. Evaluated were the extent to which the community-based organization could recruit and retain youth in the program and whether they demonstrated improvement with respect to artistic ability and psychosocial indicators. The results suggest successful recruitment and sustained attendance rates. The study employed a multilevel growth curve analyses of observational and behavioral outcomes which showed significant gains in artistic and social skills, and a significant reduction in emotional problems. The contention that community arts programs promote positive youth development is supported by this study.


Mushrooming opposition to coal mining and transportation in the United States (US) connects with both environmental justice and climate justice movements. Artistic expressions are part of the strategic toolkit of these movements. Art' capacity to foster cultural, cognitive and psychological changes is amply recognized by academics as well as by public in general. Nevertheless, the theoretical question of how art is linked to activist strategies and to socio-spatial transformations in environmental conflicts remains unexplored. This paper contributes to filling this gap by examining the emblematic struggle to stop the construction of a coal-export terminal in Oakland, CA. Our data includes 32 in-depth interviews of activists, artists and legal experts linked to the conflict surrounding this coal-export terminal. Non-participant observation and secondary data collection helped to contextualize the interviews. The results offer a timeline of the movement, a map of artistic expressions, and network analyses around the effects of environmental artistic activism. We demonstrate that creative activism has critical relevance for facilitating engagement, education and outreach of the anti- coal movement. Arts and its spatial impact benefited the movement by expanding its scale and making it more inclusive regarding demographics, including particularly women and youth of color. The use of the arts raised environmental and political awareness and enhanced public participation in decision making. The paper connects the literatures of environmental justice, environmental humanities and human geography. We contribute to the yet underdeveloped dialogue discussing the capacity of art to influence socio-ecological structures and socio-spatial dynamics in cases of environmental justice conflict.


This article reconsiders the association between childhood arts participation and cognitive and developmental outcomes. Using data from a large, nationally representative sample with extensive covariates, we employ pro pensity score weighting to adjust comparisons of children who do and do not participate in arts education (music and performing arts lessons) to address potential confounding from selection into arts education. We exam ine a broad range of outcomes in adolescence and early adulthood (e.g., GPA, self-esteem, college attendance). Our results show that selection into arts education is at least as strong as any direct effect on outcomes, provid ing no support for the causal associations between arts participation and cognitive outcomes. We do find that arts education increases arts engage ment during young adultho


The blend of Drama, Art, and Education has been there since the time Plato started his Academy. He believed that informing a student just about the concept is not enough, a good teacher has to induce the ability of critical thinking and the importance of value education in a student. Drama and Theatre both are pivotal outlets for self-expression and by using drama as a teaching tool, students are involved in every way, be it intellectually, physically, socially or emotionally. The use of drama and art in education leads to holistic learning, accelerates personality development and imparts students with crucial life skills, problem-solving skills, leadership, cooperation and collaboration. Through this blog, we will see the importance of Drama and Art in education, their benefits, role and objectives in the learning process.


Eco-Capabilities is an AHRC funded project situated at the intersection of three issues: a concern with children' wellbeing; their disconnect with the environment; and a lack of engagement with arts in school curricula. It builds on Amartya Sen' work on human capabilities as a proxy for wellbeing, developing the term eco-capabilities to describe how children define what they feel they need to live a fully good human life through environmental sustainability, social justice and future economic wellbeing. A total of 101 children aged 7-10 from schools in highly deprived areas participated in eight full days of arts in nature practice. The study drew on arts based research methods, participatory observations, interviews and focus groups with artists, teachers and children. Findings suggest that arts in nature practice contributed towards eight (eco-)capabilities: autonomy; bodily integrity and safety; individuality; mental and emotional wellbeing; relationality: human/nonhuman relations; senses and imagination; and spirituality. This was facilitated through four pedagogical elements: extended and repeated arts in nature sessions; embodiment and engaging children affectively through the senses; 'slowliness', which envelops children with time and space to (re)connect; and thoughtful practice, which facilitates emotional expression. We suggest that, through these elements, arts in nature practice supports children' wellbeing, and guides them towards a more entangled relationship with nature and a clearer understanding of themselves as part of it, thereby motivating them to take better care of it.


This article discusses social innovation in education informed by arts-based and Indigenous ways of knowing. I use the term Indigenous to refer to First Peoples' and their wisdom traditions from places around the world and the term Aboriginal to refer to the diverse First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples of Canada. The article looks at the ethical imperative for doing socially innovative work, and examines practices with potential for embedding social innovation in educational scholarship, including experiential and relational educational approaches, such as community-service learning and restorative justice; participatory action research as an allied research approach; and community arts framed as cultural democracy. It describes a research project with street-involved youth as a case study for research that moves toward social innovation through the Government of Canada Policy Research Initiative' five steps involved in a co-creative social innovation project.


This paper explores the political and social forces that have led to the well-documented narrowing of the curriculum, squeezing out arts programming in schools. While not intended to be an exhaustive literature review, this work highlights important findings that correlate arts learning with biological changes as well as cognitive and academic advantages. Further, it explores how the arts may be the key to promoting twenty-first century skills of creative thinking and problem-solving. From this review, we hope that educators and policymakers will reconsider how arts education and arts-integrated learning can influence educational practices and policies.


This study reports on the longitudinal examination of a structured arts program for Canadian youth, aged 9 to 15 years, from low-income communities. Evaluated were the extent to which community-based organizations successfully recruited and retained youth in the program and whether they demonstrated improvement with respect to artistic ability (combination of theatre, visual, and media arts) and psychosocial indicators. The results suggest successful recruitment and good retention rates. Multilevel growth curve analyses of observational and behavioral outcomes are presented. Observer ratings showed significant gains in artistic and social skills. Comparisons with matched controls using estimated linear propensity scores revealed a significant reduction in emotional problems for the intervention group. The overall conclusion is that youth from low-income communities benefit from structured arts programs.


Background: Community stroke awareness initiatives have traditionally been used to expand knowledge of stroke signs and risk factors to high-risk adult populations. Here, we use a novel unfettered, visual art-based approach for an elementary school initiative to raise stroke awareness.

Methods: Seventh graders in a middle school art class received stroke awareness training during the course of the 2015 to 2016 school year through their teacher in the visual arts class. In turn, they used this training to develop their own artistic interpretations of key stroke awareness concepts via project-based learning and then present their projects to raise awareness about stroke. We evaluated our predata and postdata to determine whether the visual art school-based stroke intervention was effective in both educating students about stroke and enabling them to effectively disseminate this information to parents and other adults in their community.

Results: The pretest evaluation indicates a fair or good knowledge about stroke, and no student indicated an "outstanding" or "excellent" knowledge. The posttest evaluation indicated a higher degree of stroke awareness because students were rated as having an "outstanding," "excellent," or "very good" performance especially in the ability to translate knowledge of stroke awareness lessons learned in their art class into a well-articulated stroke-related project and presentation. Pearson χ test reveals significant difference (P < .001) between the pretest and posttest evaluations.

Conclusions: Our results indicate that our school-based stroke intervention was effective in both educating students about stroke and enabling them to effectively disseminate this information to parents and other adults in their community. The use of a visual art teacher to lead the educational component in the intervention indicates that expertise in neurology or stroke is not necessary to facilitate understanding of stroke and highlights the importance of creativeness in stroke education for children.


Background: Educational interventions engage youth using visual, literary and performing arts to combat stigma associated with mental health problems. However, it remains unknown whether arts interventions are effective in reducing mental-health-related stigma among youth and if so, then which specific art forms, duration and stigma-related components in content are successful.

Methods: We searched 13 databases, including PubMed, Medline, Global Health, EMBASE, ADOLEC, Social Policy and Practice, Database of Promoting Health Effectiveness Reviews (DoPHER), Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI), EPPI-Centre database of health promotion research (Bibliomap), Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cochrane and Scopus for studies involving arts interventions aimed at reducing any or all components of mental-health-related stigma among youth (10-24-year-olds). Risk of bias was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Data were extracted into tables and analysed using RevMan 5.3.5.

Results: Fifty-seven studies met our inclusion criteria (n = 41,621). Interventions using multiple art forms are effective in improving behaviour towards people with mental health problems to a small effect (effect size = 0.28, 95%CI 0.08-0.48; p = 0.007) No studies reported negative outcomes or unintended harms. Among studies using specific art forms, we observed high heterogeneity among intervention studies using theatre, multiple art forms, film and role play. Data in this review are inconclusive about the use of single versus multiple sessions and whether including all stigma components of knowledge, attitude and behaviour as intervention content are more effective relative to studies focused on these stigma components, individually. Common challenges faced by school-based arts interventions included lack of buy-in from school administrators and low engagement. No studies were reported from low- and middle-income countries.

Conclusion: Arts interventions are effective in reducing mental-health-related stigma to a small effect. Interventions that employ multiple art forms together compared to studies employing film, theatre or role play are likely more effective in reducing mental-health-related stigma.


Individuals receiving inpatient psychiatric care (n = 32) were randomized to receive either brief music therapy or group therapy that constitutes the current standard of care (SOC), and completed measures of depression, mood, quality of life (QOL), and hope pre- and post-intervention. Group dynamics were evaluated by the therapists. Results indicate that significantly more patients in the music therapy group showed an increase in QOL than those in the SOC group. Regarding group dynamics, the music groups scored significantly higher on conflict and significantly lower on avoidance. Results of this study suggest that group music therapy in inpatient psychiatric settings may be as effective as SOC groups, more effective at impacting QOL, and more effective for particular diagnostic populations. Further research is needed to fully understand the impact of music therapy in this setting.


Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Self-Book© art therapy intervention on emotional distress and psychological well-being in female cancer patients. Background: According to the National Cancer Institute, emotional distress ranks as the highest of unmet needs for female cancer patients in the United States. These unmet needs impelled the National Comprehensive Cancer Network to launch governmental efforts to provide better emotional support in all oncology clinics and hospitals by the year 2015. Method: A repeated measures randomized controlled trial design was employed. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to either the six-session Self-Book© art therapy group or the standard care control group. Data on emotional distress and psychological well-being were collected using standardized instruments at four time points: baseline, week 3, week 6 and 1-to-2 months post-intervention. Results: Forty participants completed the study and were included in the final analysis. Findings suggest that Self-Book© art therapy may help decrease emotional distress and enhance spiritual well-being in female cancer patients during active oncology treatment.


This study sought to explore whether creativity in undertaking activities such as free writing, telling a story, crafts, painting, drawing, or drama at age 7 is associated with a lower risk of social and behavioral maladjustment in children at the onset of adolescence. Data from 7558 7-year-olds who were socially and behaviorally “stable” at baseline were analyzed from the nationally representative National Child Development Study. Multinomial regression analyses showed associations between teacher-rated creativity at age 7 and a lower relative risk of social and behavioral instability and maladjustment at age 11. Specifically, the associations were found between moderate and marked creativity and a lower risk of symptoms of internalizing behaviors (including depression and withdrawal), externalizing behaviors (such as restlessness) as well as a lower risk of various nervous symptoms of social and behavioral instability and maladjustment. Associations were independent of social, demographic, educational, parental, academic, and personality covariates, and robust to a range of sensitivity analyses. These results suggest that facilitating engagement with creative activities could be explored further as a way of reducing levels of instability and maladjustment at the onset of adolescence.


This research investigated the effects of grade consequences and music on test anxiety and performance. Eighty undergraduate participants (75% women, 25% men; mean age of 19.63 years; 51% Caucasian, 38% Hispanic, 4% African American) were instructed that their performance on a mathematics test either would or would not affect their course credit. Afterward, they listened to either calm or obnoxious music for 5 min prior to the test. Anxiety was assessed with a self-report inventory, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate. Compared with those who listened to obnoxious music, those who listened to calm music had lower systolic blood pressure (p 􏰀 .01, 􏰈2 􏰀 .08), lower heart rate (p 􏰀 .04, 􏰈2 􏰀 .06), and higher test scores (p 􏰀 .01, 􏰈2 􏰀 .11); however, the latter 2 effects were only significant for those whose course credit was threatened (p 􏰀 .05, 􏰈2 􏰀 .05). Self-reported anxiety (p 􏰀 .50, 􏰈2 􏰀 .01) and diastolic blood pressure (p 􏰀 .79, 􏰈2 􏰂 .01) were not significantly affected. These findings suggest a benefit of relaxing music for students experiencing test anxiety.


Research on the effects of music on human mood, behavior, cognition, and biology has burgeoned during the last 20 years, yielding thousands of studies in many different scholarly areas. This literature is extremely diverse in its use of music experiences (e.g., listening, playing/performing, learning, or creating), genres of music, target populations, ages of participants, research conditions, and intended outcomes. People in the helping professions, educators, policymakers, and the public need to know about the state of this research to make informed decisions about the benefits of music. But with such diverse approaches and outcomes in the literature, it is difficult to succinctly summarize all the research to state accurately how music affects Americans across their lifespans.


In this article, we take a strength-based approach to understand how applied theatre as a vehicle provides opportunities for embodied voices to have a positive influence on the well-being, and attitudes to health, of young people who have been 'pushed' to the margins. We begin by explaining the concepts of well-being, embodiment and embodied voices, and applied theatre. Following this we explore an example of a theatre project developed in Canada with Indigenous youth to illustrate how the well-being of those who might be termed 'marginalised' in this context, is enhanced through a process of embodied reflexivity using applied theatre approaches. Finally, we discuss challenges with this approach to working with 'marginalised' youth, and also present some recommendations for professionals using applied theatre for co-creation with 'marginalised' youth for their well-being.We share how our research led us to conclude that a commitment to the arts as a fundamental and core process for developing wellness and wellbeing is necessary. This would mean professionals associated with any programmes or projects generated to explore embodied work with young people need see the arts as a philosophical underpinning, rather than as just an additional activity that can be inserted into any programme.


We invite youth workers to learn more about how to use art in supporting emotional well-being of young people. The course provides knowledge on emotional well-being, practical art workshops and reflection sessions about the role of youth workers.


Art-based programming has been proposed to be one of the most promising approaches for teaching creativity because it provides meaningful learning through a pleasurable activity. We describe a course for children that sought to increase both creativity skills (problem finding and idea generation) and emotion skills (abilities to perceive one' emotions accurately, use one' emotions to guide creative thinking, and understand emotions). Sixty-four children were recruited from primary schools in Santander, Spain (mean age=9.73 years, 59% females) to test a six-session course at Centro Botín, an art center based in Santander, Spain. Significant effects were found for the creativity skills of problem finding and idea generation, as well as for self-reported creative behavior, though several effects were not sustained at 2-month follow-up. We discuss potential solutions for sustained creativity training and transfer of skills outside of the course setting.


Arts interventions allow young people to address social problems and oppressive forces that impact their lives. Much research has explained the theory behind arts interventions; less has explored the organizational characteristics that may facilitate empowering processes for intervention consumers. The aim of this research is to contextualize dimensions of organizational empowerment in the context of a countywide arts intervention program. Retrospective, cross-sectional, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 primary consumers of a countywide arts intervention for high school students. Directed content analysis of the interview data revealed ten emergent themes that transcended the data inductively. Findings support and extend our current understanding of organizational empowerment, as it relates to a countywide arts intervention program. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.


There is increasing interest today in how the arts contribute to individual and community wellbeing. This scoping review identified and examined ways in which the arts have been used to address wellbeing in communities in the United States. The review examined 44 publications, with combined study populations representing a total of 5,080 research participants, including marginalized populations. It identified the types of artistic practices and interventions being conducted, research methods, and outcomes measured. It highlights positive associations found across a broad spectrum of psychological, physical, and social outcomes, including improvements in self-esteem and identity formation, cognition, physical balance, and physical conditioning. It also reports negative outcomes of arts interventions that may be underreported. The study identifies the need for core outcomes sets and reporting guidelines for advancing evidence synthesis in this area.


Learning for underserved youth is integral to social progress. Yet, too often, young people experience disconnects between their educational experiences and both individual and community needs. Arts can help these youth recover a unity through collective action in the community. Drawing from the experiences of a 4-year interdisciplinary research project, Youth Community Informatics (YCI), we discuss ways of engaging underserved youth through the interplay between art education and digital media. We use the theory of community inquiry, which is informed by pragmatist philosophy, especially that of John Dewey and Jane Addams. We propose a pedagogical perspective on art education that embraces this conception of community inquiry and illustrate it with practical examples from the YCI project. This view of learning supports the connectedness of individuals and community for underserved youth.