Arts and Health Australia
Arts and Health Australia (AHA) is a networking and advocacy organisation and consulting agency, established to enhance and improve health and wellbeing within the community through engagement in creative activities (www.artsandhealth.org)
AHA provides tailored programs, research design and strategic solutions to its clients, and organises conferences, forums and training programs.
The arts and health field encompasses primary and acute care, aged care and creative ageing, community health and health promotion.
AHA promotes best-practice policy and programming in arts and health, which culminates annually in November with The Art of Good Health and Wellbeing conference.
Arts and Health Australia is the founder and convenor of “The Art of Good Health and Wellbeing”, annual international arts and health conference. The inaugural conference was held at the Glasshouse Arts Centre, Port Macquarie NSW November 2009; followed by Asialink, University of Melbourne November 2010; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, November 2011; Notre Dame University Australia, Fremantle, November 2012; Art Gallery of NSW and College of Fine Arts, UNSW, Sydney, November 2013; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, November 2014; Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, November 2015. The 8th conference is being held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 16 - 18 November 2016. The theme for this year is Mental Health and Resilience through the Arts.
The conference attracts delegates from the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Emirates and Australia.
Each conference has a stream dedicated to arts and health programs in hospitals, mental health and aged care facilities and explores the relationship between architecture, design, health and wellbeing. Other conference streams include health promotion, creative ageing, social inclusion, Aboriginal health, young people, community cultural development, community assimilation for people from culturally diverse backgrounds, medical humanities and research and evaluation.
Arts and Health Australia:
- Advocates arts and health practice in primary care and community health
- Demonstrates the efficacy of the arts in health promotion
- Showcases the value of the humanities in medical education and clinician wellbeing
- Networks with people working in healthcare, arts, education and the community
- Connects with international counterparts on programming and research
- Facilitates policy change at federal, state and local government level to encourage and stimulate the development of ‘arts in healthcare’ in Australia
- Supports scientific research and evaluation of arts and health programs in Australia and overseas