ARTS

 Guardian - Most people are familiar with the buzz that attending a memorable play, film, concert or art exhibition can trigger. But now it is official: consuming culture is good for your health and wellbeing – and generates [$10 billion] a year worth of improvements in people’s quality of life and higher productivity.

That is the conclusion of the first major UK research to quantify the impact the arts and heritage can have on physical and mental health and the monetary value of the advantages they bring.  Going to an arts event or taking part in a cultural activity, even only occasionally such as every few months, confers an array of “significant” benefits that can include alleviating pain, frailty, depression and dependence on medication, the government-commissioned review has found.

“Engagement with performance-based art such as plays, musicals and ballet, and particularly participation in music, is linked to reductions in depression and in pain and improved quality of life,” said Matthew Bell of Frontier Economics, a co-author of the research.

“We can value those impacts in terms of reduced costs to the NHS, increased productivity at work and improved quality of life.” It may even help postpone the onset of dementia.