Back in October 2024, the Sausalito-based artist’s community, Industrial Center Building (ICB), held its “Artists at Work” day. Attendees watched local artists “in action,” and it was also an opportunity to see why doctors in the United States are considering the concept of prescribing community art — or “arts on prescription” — to help people with mental health concerns, since the event fostered creative expression and social connection. The World Health Organization recognizes social connection as a key social determinant of health. In response, a growing global movement known as social prescribing is emerging. This approach draws on successful international examples where activities like sports, gardening, arts, culture and time in nature are used to strengthen the bonds between individuals and their communities.
One such model is Arts on Prescription, which connects patients to arts-based programs as a form of support. Across many regions, efforts are underway to build systems that enable medical professionals to refer patients to these kinds of community-based, evidence-informed programs.The concept of arts on prescription is a new model of care that empowers medical professionals to refer patients to community arts programs (ideally at no cost to the patient) to address the negative impact of social isolation on health outcomes. And while it’s yet to land in Marin County, it’s a trend that is showing potential.
“I think that people who are experiencing or are at risk for loneliness and social isolation can benefit greatly from arts prescribing, as we know that arts participation can build social connection and cohesion,” said Jill Sonke, Director of Research Initiatives at the Center for Arts in Medicine, University of Florida College of the Arts.
“And, people who are un-or under-insured have less access to wellness and health promotion programs and can also benefit greatly.”
Sonke is also the co-director of the EpiArts Lab, a joint effort between University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine, and the Social Behavioral Research Group at University College London. According to its website, the Lab “builds on research conducted in the UK to investigate the impact of arts and cultural engagement on population health outcomes in the U.S. through epidemiological analyses of US cohort studies.”
In fact, when the EpiArts Lab explored data from the 2014–16 Health and Retirement Study done by Institute for Social Research (ISR) at the University of Michigan, it found that participants in the arts had higher life satisfaction, purpose in life, and perceived control over their lives. The survey looked at 12,111 older adults, with the intention to examine the health-related outcomes of those who participated in community arts groups versus those who didn’t.
Connecting to Self and Community
At the ICB, artist Maria Burtis’ daily act of painting is a spiritual practice that she has been doing for over 20 years. She paints for 10-30 minutes each day and then posts the creation to a community that follows her on Instagram.
While Burtis wasn’t prescribed “arts on prescription” by a doctor as a tool for maintaining her well-being and social connection, it has helped her stay spiritually grounded while working in a community.
Burtis describes her daily art-making practice as one that connects her to “a universal consciousness.”
“Essentially, it’s like the ego and self dissolve, and it’s more of a being you. I feel that it’s like a channel for some creative impulse or some creative force,” said Burtis. “I feel like painting is teaching me how to live my life. Painting is like a residue of my presence during a spiritual experience.”
Later in Life Support
The National Institute on Aging warns that isolation during aging is detrimental to the physical, mental, cognitive and emotional health of older adults. Senior citizens fighting off depression from isolation, a complex medical diagnosis or grief can suffer from a lack of physical resilience that leads to an increase in chronic illness, hearing loss and dementia.
Luckily, we are starting to see an uptick in the creation of programs and initiatives to counteract this public health crisis
In 2024, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which includes the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor, spent time and resources refining plans to serve diverse members of the city’s aging population with programs that increased social connections. The program, Vitality Arts, looked to help improve the social, emotional and psychological well-being of these San Francisco seniors.
It took time for the museum team to work out the kinks and find a format that connected individuals to themselves, and then create a structure that encouraged social engagement. Meanwhile, a grant funded by E. A. Michelson Philanthropy made the time and resources needed to work through the challenge possible.
“One participant missed a class and we heard that she was in the hospital. Everyone was so worried. When she came to class the following week, she shared: ‘This class keeps me going,’” said Jennie Smith, manager of gallery teaching at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and manager of the 2023 Vitality Arts pilot.
The continuing Vitality Arts classes are open to diverse members of the city’s population, as identified in partnership with community-based organizations serving these specific populations.
A Youthful Approach
Seniors are not the only potential beneficiaries of arts on prescription — young adults and teens can also benefit from this practice.
Since January 2024, the Arts Prescribing Program at Sanford University has made non-clinical, non-pharmaceutical “art prescriptions” available to any matriculated student who is interested in exploring the benefits of community arts on their health and well-being. Referrals (known as a “prescription”) are offered alongside other clinical services through a network of campus prescribing partners. The “prescriptions” connect students with culturally relevant, participant-centered activities, such as outings to museums, creativity workshops and theater programs on both campus and throughout the region.
“It [prescribing art] gives a structure and a metaphorical piece of paper to say ‘take time and take a break,’” said Sabrina Wilensky, who works in the Office of the Vice President for the Arts at Stanford University.
“And, because students can bring a friend or a care partner to their activity, it gives another level of community accountability, community support and engagement and social connection to participation.”
Stanford has been flooded with interest from all staff members in all corners of the campus when it comes to referrals. Wilensky’s team started the program thinking that four campus referral partners would be great, but they’re now up to 37, and the common feedback she gets from fellow staff: “Yes, this makes sense.” The number of yeses and support was unlike anything the team had ever experienced, and student momentum is growing as word of mouth builds.
Wilensky said that Stanford hopes the model, offered in conjunction with Art Pharmacy, commercial social prescribing solution could be an example for other schools, including community colleges, that are struggling to meet the needs of campus mental health.
Once a Stanford student is referred, the Art Pharmacy Care Navigator continues the intake process, learns more about the student and their interests, and handles the engagement matching and logistics. Art Pharmacy provides a turnkey solution customized for Stanford. Since the Stanford team noticed the interest from graduate students, Art Pharmacy helped the team add off-campus activities to the mix of programs offered in their referrals.
Beyond the Classroom
Arts on prescription is also gaining popularity at the state level, albeit slowly. In Massachusetts, for example, the state has run CultureRX since 2020 to build a public infrastructure that “supports the role of cultural experiences as a protective factor in the health and well-being of all people in the Commonwealth.” Mass MoCA, for example, co-created programs with MACONY pediatrics and Community Health Programs in North Adams as part of CultureRX
Meanwhile, California for the Arts has launched an Arts and Health program. Social Prescribing USA offers online resources to both professionals and the general public.
Zooming out, resources such as the “Arts on Prescription: A Field Guide for US Communities,” is helping communities put the infrastructure in place to make a system where health- and social- care providers are enabled to prescribe community arts, culture, or nature experiences to patients or clients. And a growing number of for-profit partners, including Art Pharmacy, help set up and vet arts and cultural programs, and assist medical professionals and insurance providers in matching patients to the appropriate program based on their mental health challenges and personal interests.
A Look at What’s Next
Arts on Prescription is still in its early stages in Marin County. However, communities like the Industrial Center Building already showcase its potential. Artists such as Maria Burtis exemplify how daily creative practice, especially in a communal setting, can support overall health and well-being. What’s now needed is a formal infrastructure that connects patients and clients to arts experiences as a non-medical, non-pharmaceutical approach to health and wellness.
Recently, local advocates from Youth in Arts and the Marin Cultural Association represented Marin County at Arts Advocacy Day 2025 in Sacramento. They urged policymakers to integrate Arts on Prescription into public health strategies to help transform communities in meaningful, lasting ways. Key recommendations included:
- Expanding policies that recognize access to the arts as a vital part of the healthcare system — specifically by defining arts participation as a health-promoting behavior linked to the social determinants of health.
- Prioritizing and incentivizing interagency collaboration among arts agencies, health departments and municipal divisions through cross-sector initiatives that promote the sharing of resources and knowledge.
- Increasing funding for nonprofit arts and cultural organizations that offer programs supporting community health.
With a robust Arts on Prescription infrastructure, a medical professional could, for example, refer a newly widowed senior to a link worker or a social prescribing partner. That person would then be connected to a Marin-based program such as the Industrial Center Building’s Artists at Work. Insurance would cover participation costs and transportation for the senior and a companion — helping reduce grief, rebuild social connections, foster a sense of community and lead to better overall health outcomes.
Read how a therapist at San Rafael High School used a similar approach as Arts on Prescription.
