Community Arts and Health Promotion

Over the last twenty years a new field of study named “arts and health” has emerged in the industrialized world. Researchers and practitioners interested in the relations between arts and public health have claimed that certain arts initiatives can promote intermediate indicators of individual and community health such as enjoyment, self-esteem, self-confidence, social inclusion and cohesion. This book addresses the potential use of community arts to promote health among disadvantaged populations. It presents a case study of “ph15”, a photography workshop for young people living in “Ciudad Oculta”, one of the biggest and most marginalised slums of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The findings suggests that community-based arts initiatives can improve health dimensions in which biomedical health programmes have not been successful, such as the social domains of health. Given the variety of fields of study and interest that the research presented in this book involves, it may be especially useful for those working in the health sector, those interested in the arts and culture arena, as well as those working in social programmes and in international development organizations.