Championing the therapeutic value of creative expression
Mississauga Arts Council’s ArtsCare Initiatives
MAC’s ArtsCare initiatives have included awarding the Arts for Mental Health Award since 2018, organizing the Arts for Mental Health Conference with Mass Culture in 2021, and their ArtsCare Programming MicroGrants that help put these pilot programs into action.
About the A4MH Conference
MAC in partnership with Mass Culture presented our virtual Arts for Mental Health Conference on October 6, 2021. This timely conference brought together artists, medical practitioners, and policy makers to demonstrate the impact and benefits the arts have on the mental well-being of individuals, with the goal being a pilot arts for mental health program in Peel Region.
ArtsCare Resources
MAC looked into studies on the impact of arts on overall health and wellness. The startling healthcare benefits cited by provincial, national, and international reports, studies, and surveys guided our approach to the conference, and sparked the Arts + Mental Health Datathon was a three-day event, running from September 7-9, 2021.
ArtsCare Programming
Mississauga Arts Council is a champion of Arts Care Programming in Mississauga. Through MAC’s MicroGrant program, artists are able to fund and create therapeutic arts programs to benefit those suffering from mental health conditions. These programs also create a resource of the possibilities and outcomes of Arts Care services.
Arts for Health News
On February 9, 2022, The Honourable Patricia Bovey (F.R.S.A., Senator) asked a question to Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, (P.C., M.P., Minister of Health) during the Senate Debate. Senator Bovey has been a long advocate of leveraging the impact of the benefit arts and culture have on health.
Resource: Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation: The U.S. Surgeon Gneral’s advisory on the healing effects of social connection and community (The U.S. Surgeon General)
Given the profound consequences of loneliness and isolation, we have an opportunity, and an obligati…
Resource: The Impact of Arts and Cultural Engagement on Population Health: Findings from Major Cohort Studies in the UK and USA 2017 –2022 (University College London)
This report synthesizes the global evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-bei…
Resource: The arts in public health policy: progress and opportunities (The Lancet: Health Policy)
To explore what global progress is being made towards the WHO's call for collaboration between arts …
Arts for Mental Health Award 2022
Mississauga Arts Council (MAC) is pleased to announce the winner of this year’s
Arts for Mental Health Award, family physician and advocate for social justice and mental health, Dr. Colin Saldanha.
Sponsored by Bell Canada, this award recognizes the work of individuals and groups who have made significant contributions to arts for mental
health initiatives. This year’s award was presented at MAC’s gala fundraiser for the arts, the MACsquerade Ball, on December 1st, 2022 at Le Treport.
Arts + Mental Conference
October 6 2021, 1 – 5pm EDT
Mississauga Arts Council in partnership with Mass Culture presented the Arts for Mental Health Conference, bringing together thought leaders from the arts and medical fields to map a way forward for the integration of the arts into mental health practices.
Want to know more?
Contact us to learn more about the conference and how you can get involved. This is the start of a movement to bring the arts and health sectors together, and we look forward to your participation.