»About Arts & Health Australia
Arts and Health Australia (AHA) is a networking and advocacy organisation and consulting agency, established to enhance and improve health and wellbeing within the community through engagement in creative activities. AHA is a groundbreaking organisation providing up-to-the-minute research and strategic solutions to its clients, and hosting conferences, forums and training programs.
The arts and health field encompasses primary and acute care, aged care, community health and health promotion.
AHA passionately promotes best-practice policy in arts and health, which culminates annually in November with The Art of Good Health and Wellbeing conference. Now in it's fourth year, international luminaries who have attended previous conferences include Carrie McGee from the Museum of Modern Art, Society for the Arts in Healthcare president emeritus, Naj Wikoff, NEA Director Paula Terry, pioneering researchers Susan Perlstein and Anne Marie Freybourg from Germany and British community arts and health specialists Mike White and Clive Parkinson.
The 4th annual conference in 2012 will take place at Notre Dame University, Fremantle, Western Australia and will welcome authorities from the UK, USA and Canada along with experts from Australia. Areas of key focus for the conference include Creative Ageing and programs for people with dementia and their carers; medical education and medical humanities; and designing healthcare environments. This year will have a focus on providing arts and health programs for Aboriginal communities.
Arts and Health Australia:
- Advocates arts and health practice in primary care and community health
- Demonstrates the efficacy of the arts in health promotion
- Showcases the value of the humanities in medical education and clinician wellbeing
- Networks with people working in healthcare, arts, education and the community
- Connects with international counterparts on programming and research
- Facilitates policy change at federal, state and local government level to encourage and stimulate the development of ‘arts in healthcare’ in Australia
- Supports scientific research and evaluation of arts and health programs in Australia and overseas