The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund Unveils a Groundbreaking Report on the Role of Arts in Health and More Than Doubles Investment in the Arts in Health Field to $25 Million

Report showcases the power of the arts to build strong communities, improve health and wellbeing and help people thrive. The report includes case studies and data on the impact of the first six years of the Illumination Fund’s initiative at the intersection of the arts and healthcare in New York City.

New York, NY — December 12, 2024 — Today, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund released The Role of Arts in Healthcare: Transforming Lives, Creating Community, a progress report on its Arts in Health Initiative highlighting the transformative impact of arts-based interventions on health and well-being in communities across New York City.

Building on the success of the initiative, which began in 2018 with an initial investment of $10 million, the Illumination Fund is more than doubling its commitment to $25 million. This new funding will support a broad range of organizations across the city working at the intersection of arts and healthcare, a field that has been growing and flourishing nationally and internationally, the fund will foster innovative programs that improve health, address mental health needs, and promote community wellness.

“The arts have long been shown to reduce stress, support healing, and foster healthier communities,” said Laurie Tisch, founder and president of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. “At a time of unprecedented health and mental health challenges, the arts offer innovative and compassionate solutions to enhance care and community well-being. We are thrilled to expand our commitment in the field of arts in health and to share this report, which amplifies the voices of healthcare leaders, artists, and community members who are seeing the extraordinary power of the arts to improve health.”

The report includes 29 case studies and program examples, as well as interviews and essays delving into the growing intersection of the arts in healthcare. The case studies provide vivid examples that showcase how creative programming in hospitals, community centers, museums, and public spaces is enhancing health outcomes, lowering stigma, and fostering healing. The report identifies examples that show how different artistic disciplines – including visual art, dance, music, and theater – create opportunities for distinct strategies and impact. The report also demonstrates the impact of the Illumination Fund’s philanthropic strategies. It shows the value of building a cohort of grantees, as well as how philanthropic support helps organizations scale up engagement to reach more people, innovate new methodologies, and undertake research to understand and underscore impact that contributes to the growing body of evidence in the field of arts in health. The Illumination Fund created a series of short videos that accompany the report that are available here.

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Developed in collaboration with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors as well as leading healthcare professionals, artists, and researchers, the report presents compelling data and success stories that underscore the vital importance of integrating the arts into healthcare. It highlights the role of arts-based initiatives across the city, and explores programs that address mental health and mental health stigma, trauma, and aging-related diseases, and that address disparities in health and healthcare in communities throughout the city.

“The Arts in Health initiative is designed to catalyze the use of the arts to address pressing health issues. Our goal has been to help pioneering organizations expand their reach, advance their strategies, and build awareness of the role that the arts can play in healing. The results have far exceeded our expectations,” said Rick Luftglass, executive director of the Illumination Fund.

“We created this report to show how the grantees in the initiative are impacting lives and changing the field, and to inspire fellow funders, nonprofits, and philanthropists to join us in championing the essential integration of arts and medicine.”

Since the Illumination Fund launched its Arts in Health initiative in 2018, the field has grown exponentially, with the arts increasingly recognized as an effective healthcare strategy. In 2019, the World Health Organization began investigating the role of the arts in healthcare and found that:

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The creation and enjoyment of the arts helps promote holistic wellness and can be a motivating factor in recovery. Including the arts in healthcare delivery has been shown to support positive clinical outcomes for patients while also supporting other stakeholders, including healthcare providers, the patient’s loved ones and the wider community. Benefits are seen across several markers, including health promotion, the management of health conditions and illness, and disease prevention.”

The World Health Organization has since launched a partnership with New York University’s Jameel Health Lab and Culture Runners to continue international research into the effectiveness of specific arts interventions on overall health. Also launched in 2019 with support from the Illumination Fund, the Neuroarts Blueprint is studying how the arts and aesthetic experiences measurably change the body, brain, and behavior, and how this knowledge is translated into specific practices that advance health and wellbeing.

The National Endowment for the Arts has also engaged in research in the field and has published several reports showing the positive effects of the arts on overall health.

“Attitudes towards the arts in health and utilization of the arts to improve wellbeing have evolved,” said Luftglass. A Harris poll conducted in October 2024 found that an overwhelming majority of Americans (86%) have utilized the arts to improve their mental health. Among those who’ve engaged in arts activities with other people, nearly 9 in 10 say doing so improved their mental health, overall wellbeing, and ability to express themselves (87% each).”

Key findings in The Role of Arts in Healthcare: Transforming Lives, Creating Community from the grantees combined with other research in the Arts in Health field include:

• The arts are an effective tool to address trauma:
  • Dance and movement workshops for survivors of intimate partner violence contributed toward reductions in PTSD symptoms and psychological distress, improved mood, and reduced tension.
  • Refugee women survivors of gender-based violence, war, and displacement who participated in group therapy and the making of story cloths demonstrated a reduction of depression, anxiety, and trauma-related stress.
• The arts are an effective tool to address aging-related diseases:
  • Art observation and artmaking for adults with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers provides positive emotional and cognitive experiences, enhances verbal and non-verbal communication, and reduces isolation.
  • Dance and movement classes for people with Parkinson’s Disease and their care partners improves balance, cognition, and motor skills, mental health, and physical confidence.
  • Hospital artists-in-residence contribute to richer experiences for healthcare staff and patients and cultivate empathy and communication between patients and care providers.
• The arts help reduce mental health stigma:
  • Teens and young adults in 95 countries created more than 4,600 films about mental health, encouraging empathy and fostering discussions on topics ranging from body dysmorphia and bullying to depression and eating disorders.
  • Concerts featuring Broadway stars helped connect more than 9,000 New Yorkers of color to free mental health resources and culturally competent therapists.
  • Interactive theater sparked culturally relevant dialogue about mental health in Latinx communities in the Bronx.
• An essay by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors shows how the Illumination Fund’s strategic approach has a multiplicative effect:
  • Grantees report that being part of a cohort of organizations provides valuable resources and collaborative opportunities, transforming isolated organizations working in diverse fields into a network of synergistic partnerships.
  • Active engagement with grantee partners fosters trust and allows for flexibility in the face of unexpected obstacles.
  • The Illumination Fund utilizes its own network to connect grantees to other resources and funders, helping to expand opportunities and awareness.
  • In addition to providing financial support the Illumination Fund helps grantee partners with communications, creating videos, and sharing knowledge at conferences and professional convenings.

Programs supported by the Illumination Fund have:

• Improved Patient Outcomes:
  • Evidence-based research demonstrates how visual art, music therapy, and other creative modalities reduce stress, anxiety, and pain while promoting faster recovery.
• Increased Community Health Impact:
  • Programs that integrate the arts with community health initiatives are addressing social determinants of health, reducing stigma, and improving access to care in underserved communities.
• Provided Mental Health Support:
  • Arts-based interventions have proven to be effective tools in addressing mental health challenges, particularly in vulnerable populations, youth, seniors, and frontline healthcare workers.
• Transformed Healthcare Environments for Hospital Staff and Patients
  • Hospital-based arts programs support healthcare staff by relieving stress, fostering connections, creating opportunities for dialogue.

The full report is available at https://thelmtif.org/artsinhealth-update/

For media inquiries, interviews, or additional information, please contact:

Jan Rothschild jan@janrothschild.com  215-983-2157 @janrothschild

About the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund is a New York City-based foundation that aims to improve access and opportunity for all New Yorkers and foster healthy and vibrant communities. In 2018, the Illumination Fund launched Arts in Health, a multi-year initiative to support organizations utilizing the arts as a tool for healing and building understanding in communities across New York City. The initiative’s areas of focus are stigma, trauma and aging-related diseases as well as supporting organizations addressing mental health in communities disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019 the Illumination Fund supported the creation of NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine department, expanding programs serving health care staff, patients, and communities in sites across the City. For more information, visit www.lmtif.org or follow @LMTischFund on X (formerly Twitter) and the new social Bluesky.