Plenary Panel – Art, Health, Welfare and Care: Reflections on Some Results in the ArtsEqual Research Initiative by Kai Lehikoinen, Eeva Siljamäki, Tuula Jääskeläinen ja Taru Koivisto
Next to experiential knowledge, there is increasingly research on the value of the arts for health and wellbeing. The cumulative results have emerged in tandem with cultural policy-making and as professionals in the arts have justified their work in the boundary area between the arts, health care and social work. In this roundtable, researchers from the ArtsEqual Research Initiative’s research group Arts in Health, Welfare and Care will introduce some of the key results of their research that focus on the potential of the arts and arts education in health and social care contexts to strengthen health, wellbeing and social justice. Also, the roundtable will address some mechanisms that sustain unequal participation in the arts in health and social care contexts.