A Study of Four Arts Organization-Based Arts and Health Programs

This thesis explores four programs run by arts organizations that use the arts to improve some aspect of health. Case studies of the organizations showed that programs share common characteristics, such as being beneficial to the organizations as a whole, and that all program managers want to distinguish their work from clinical therapy. There are also significant differences between programs based on organization size funding; larger, better-funded organizations are more likely to value evaluation and partnerships with medical institutions while smaller organizations are more interested in running their programs to the best of their ability. This paper serves as a call to action for the arts and health fieldâurging them to examine the breadth and needs of arts-organization based programs, in addition to healthcare institution-based programs, in order to serve the field better as a whole.M.S., Arts Administration -- Drexel University, 201