In the last two decades, art and culture have been gradually integrated in the public health strategies of various countries, with the UK leading the way. There is a growing volume of scientific evidence showing that art and creative activities not only help to restore balance in the body, mind and spirit, but can also effectively improve both wellbeing and physical and mental health.
Many measures of this kind are based on social participation and social cohesion, which has been defined by the Council of Europe as the capacity of a society to ensure the well-being of all its members (minimising disparities and avoiding marginalisation), to manage differences and divisions, and to ensure the means of achieving welfare for all members.
In Community engagement: a health promotion guide for universal health coverage in the hands of the people (2020), the World Health Organization underlines that community engagement is a key driver of change for both individuals and communities. It enables programmes and practices that can have a positive impact on health and bolster shared commitment to promoting wellbeing.
All of this goes to show what a crucial role participation in art-based activities can have: cultural experiences, especially ones with solid local roots, can become real catalysts for agency and empowerment. They help to build trust, boost collaboration and increase the civic capacity to bring about change, leading to positive impacts on the health and vitality of communities.
Although there is a growing scientific focus on the relationship between art, social cohesion and wellbeing, most literature still examines these aspects separately.
In May 2025, “Frontiers” published an integrative review by Jill Sonke, Virginia Pesata, Aaron Colverson, Jane Morgan-Daniel, Alexandra K. Rodriguez, Gray Davidson Carroll, Shanaé Burch, Abel Abraham, Seher Akram, Stefany Marjani, Cassandra Belden and Hiba Karim. It aimed to address this gap by building on the We-Making project in the United States (2017-2021), which explored the links between community-based art initiatives, social cohesion and health equity.
The review also lays the foundations for a broader research agenda developed to assess the impact of the national One Nation/One Project initiative launched in the United States in 2022, which puts the ideas behind We-Making into practice across the country in order to strengthen social fabric and increase the health and cohesion of communities.
On 18 sites across the USA, local artists, municipal officials and community health leaders are working together to create large-scale participatory arts projects that harness culture to advance community health and social regeneration.
The review defined a community as a group inhabiting a common territory or having one or more common ties. This encompasses both communities of people sharing common geographic areas, including groups with culturally distinct members and culturally heterogeneous groups, and transient communities, such as migrants and refugees.
A central role in the analysis was played by social cohesion, the definition of which was based on nine variables:
The review looked into studies from twelve countries – including the United States, China, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea and Ecuador – with a total of 11,621 participants.
The art forms featured in the initiatives studied were divided into the following categories:
Multidisciplinary initiatives combining a number of art forms.
In addition, the review developed four themes that demonstrate how taking part in community art and culture projects can have an impact on social cohesion and wellbeing.
Creative activities in community spaces – with physical or tactile engagement – can help to build social cohesion. Four studies underline that community spaces can facilitate social relationships, solidarity, belonging, and social capital.
One significant example came from China, where the use of public squares for dancing fostered a shared sense of cultural belonging (Tian et al., 2022). Dancing helps people to connect with the history and identity of places, leading to positive emotions and stronger social cohesion. Participants in the project also reported increased personal satisfaction, resulting in greater wellbeing.
Initiatives based on local traditions have proved to be a particularly effective way of strengthening shared identities, belonging and cooperation.
For instance, participants in a school-based traditional music programme for indigenous youth rediscovered their cultural heritage through song, dance and learning native language lyrics (Good et al., 2021). The experience aided personal, cultural and social development, fostering cultural identity and community bonding, while also creating spaces for cross-cultural exchanges that foment cohesion between people from different backgrounds.
When members of the same community collaborate in order to create performances, exhibitions or other art-based initiatives, it cultivates a strong sense of commitment to each other and the project itself. Various studies reveal that engagement of this kind results in more regular participation, which in turn brings broader benefits in terms of social cohesion, health and wellbeing.
Another case in point is a national social circus programme in Ecuador, participants in which feel a greater sense of belonging to the group and involvement in the community (Spiegel et al., 2019).
As well as being cultivated by art-based initiatives, social cohesion can act as a mechanism that builds wellbeing in communities. For example, a community gardening program in New South Wales promoted social connections, inclusion and a sense of community (Ward et al., 2022).
The final part of the review presents a cycle that offers better understanding of the effects of community-based arts participation. When activities involve co-creation – such as working together to plan and produce a performance or an exhibition – or cultural sharing that revolves around identities, practices and traditions, they can trigger processes that strengthen relationships and the feeling of group belonging.
Consequently, participants forge stronger ties, feel a greater sense of belonging to a community, and develop forms of mutual solidarity. This can then lead to growing commitment to the programme and the other participants, which can bring about more regular, longer-lasting participation. The result is a virtuous circle that sees art building social cohesion, which in turn boosts participation, thus enhancing both individual and community wellbeing.
Further reading:
Catterina Seia and Elena Rosica, Health and spirituality, 29 August 2025
Catterina Seia and Marta Reichlin, The power of choral singing and its impact on health and the community, 30 December 2024
Catterina Seia and Marta Reichlin, Community resources for the health of everyone, 29 May 2024