5 Tips for Connecting Your Arts Programming to Wellness 

Older adults are deep wells of wisdom and lived experience, but they can also face increased isolation, health struggles, or memory loss. Arts programs can support their wellbeing by fostering connection, encouraging creative expression, and honoring their stories.

• In Indianapolis, Castleton United Methodist Church partnered with a professional storyteller to host six creative sessions for seniors. Participants shared personal memories, wove them into stories, and performed for the community.

• In Minneapolis, Minnesota Giving Voice supports a network of choirs for people with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. Their free open-source toolkits help other communities start dementia-inclusive singing groups that celebrate memory and connection.

Rural communities can face limited access to resources that support health, connection, and creativity. Arts and wellness programming can help fill these gaps, strengthening both individual and community wellbeing.

• In small town Granite Falls, Minnesota, JJ Kapur, a theater performer turned psychology PhD student, invited participants to explore vulnerability through writing love letters and sharing them on stage. “I’m interested in how groups can heal together,” he said. “How is the theater therapeutic and how is therapy kind of a form of theater?”

Veterans may experience unique challenges to their mental health, sense of connection, and creative expression. Arts and wellness programming can offer space for reflection, storytelling, and healing, supporting the wellbeing of those who have served.

• In North Dakota, Arts for Vets offers a welcoming space for veterans to create art in a community setting, finding healing at their own pace.

Patients navigating illness or recovery often face stress, isolation, or uncertainty. Arts and wellness programming can provide moments of comfort, creativity, and connection, which in turn support healing.

• At Oyate Health Center in South Dakota, a new building became home to a permanent art collection that seeks to support physical,  mental, and spiritual health, with images that resonate with the clinic’s largely Native American patients and staff.

Caregivers often focus so deeply on supporting others that their own wellbeing can be overlooked. Arts and wellness programming can create space for rest, reflection, and creative expression, helping caregivers reconnect with themselves and their communities.

• Through the VA Caregiver Support Program, caregivers can participate in virtual art journaling workshops designed to reduce stress, combat isolation, and promote self-expression. These low-pressure sessions blend offer caregivers a chance to reconnect with themselves and support their own wellbeing.

Studies show that reading for pleasure reduces stress, heightens empathy, improves students’ test scores, slows the onset of dementia, and makes us more active and aware citizens.  Libraries make excellent partners for creative literary programs that invite reflection, learning, and connection.

Consider collaborating on programs like:

• A zine-making series led by local artists that invites participants to explore what health and wellness mean to them.

• A guided writing circle led by an author, where participants use personal storytelling to explore themes like healing,  gratitude, or growth

Want more inspiration? Check out how one NEA Big Read grantee co-created a joyful community mural rooted in Ross Gay’s Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude.

Community centers are vital gathering spaces that offer familiarity, and built-in trust, making them ideal partners for arts and wellness programs that feel accessible and welcoming.

Consider partnering on programs like:

• A pop-up portrait studio led by a visual artist, where community members are photographed and interviewed about what wellness means to them, culminating in a public exhibition

• A community quilt or textile project led by a fiber artist, where participants stitch together pieces that reflect personal stories around wellness, culminating in a shared artwork for the space.

Want more inspiration? Flutes at Dawn from Milwaukee, says working with a community-based space afforded them more freedom and flexibility in terms of setting up the space and meeting the audience where they are at.

“Because our performance is as rooted in education as it is in entertainment, it felt good to empower young people and engage with their families during rehearsals and the performances. I think this brought out more people who wouldn’t otherwise come to a theater/performing arts center.”

Third spaces—places that aren’t home or work—offer unexpected opportunities for arts and wellness engagement. From yoga studios and coffee shops to parks and laundromats, offering programs in informal gathering spaces can lower barriers, reach new audiences, and create a sense of comfort and belonging.

Consider partnering on programs like:

• Storytelling circles led by a spoken word artist in barbershops, creating discussion around mental health, masculinity, and healing.

• Pop-up sound baths led by a local musician in local parks, designed to bring calming, immersive experiences and give others the skills to lead their own sound meditations.

Want more inspiration? Perceptions Yoga, Mindfulness and Art in Vernon, Indiana turns their art gallery into a yoga studio depending on the event schedule.  

Credentialed art therapists (ATR, ATR-BC) are trained to help people express themselves creatively while improving emotional and psychological wellbeing. Find certified practitioners through the Art Therapy Credentials Board.

Registered with the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA), these professionals use movement as a form of healing and self-expression, especially helpful for trauma processing, stress relief, and embodiment. Find certified practitioners through their search tool.

Certified by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT), they use structured musical activities to support emotional regulation, cognitive functioning, and interpersonal connection. Find a therapist in their online directory.

Registered Drama Therapists (RDT) use role-play, improvisation, and storytelling to support self-awareness, healing, and behavior change. They are credentialed by the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA). Find a therapist using their search tool.

These professionals can serve as collaborators or advisors on program design—ensuring content is trauma-informed, age-appropriate, and responsive to participants’ emotional needs. Look for those with state licensure (e.g., LPC, LCSW, LMFT, or PhD/PsyD).

Often credentialed through state-run training programs, peer specialists bring lived experience with mental health or substance use challenges. While not clinical providers, they offer valuable insight and support grounded in shared experience.