Community Neuroarts Coalitions are local evidence to impact collaborations of diverse stakeholders who engage the power of the arts and aesthetic experiences to improve the health, wellbeing, cohesion and resilience of their communities. Straddling both rigorous evidence and community-building activities, these interdisciplinary, cross-sector teams bring together health, art and community-based practitioners and organizations with researchers, educators, and clinicians, and their affiliated institutions, to advance evidence-based arts research and practice.

The NeuroArts Blueprint is stewarding the establishment of the Global Community Neuroarts Coalitions Network. As an umbrella for the local alliances whose efforts are informing clinical and community best practices, the Network will be a foundational cornerstone to build the neuroarts field.

A framework to enable local partners to identify measurable outcomes and pursue impact, Community Neuroarts Coalitions recognize what the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has highlighted as the synergistic relationship between science and the arts (Chapline & Johnson 2016). In its Guide to Community-Engaged Research in the Arts and Health, the NEA states that researchers stand to gain from partnering with “arts professionals,” because they “often witness first-hand the effects of their artistic practice on individuals, on groups, and on whole communities. Because they are experts in their fields, arts professionals likely will have insights into what types of arts programs or interventions work best in which settings and for whom.”

By engaging valued local assets and generating actionable knowledge, community-based participatory research provides a strength-based tool for building evidence. Community-driven evidence building is a particularly apt model for arts-and-health knowledge because it acknowledges and builds upon the unique skills, expertise, and experiences of a community. 

The Blueprint team has identified three core principles to guide the development of Community Neuroarts Coalitions: 

First, these coalitions will be inclusive and welcoming, reflecting the diversity of the population and artistic expression of their community. Each community will draw on its own unique history and resources.

Second, each coalition will be interdisciplinary and cross sectoral and include active participation from:

• Researchers, including cognitive, psychological, public health, neuroscience and clinical researchers, and others affiliated with research institutions.
• Health practitioners, including creative arts therapists, psychologists, neurologists, public health professionals, social workers, occupational therapists, and physical therapists. 
• Community arts and cultural organizations and artists, including those who advocate for cultural equity and art engagement at the community and individual level.
• Educators, including those from schools and universities developing in educational pathways in science, health, and the arts as well as those who use the arts in learning and strengthening social and emotional development.
• Private sector champions, including those interested in expanding wellness opportunities in their communities.
• Public sector champions, including those seeking to improve community wellbeing, health and learning by integrating arts into all policies.

Third, each coalition will identify its own goals in pursuit of health and well-being and decide which local stakeholders—such as research institutions, arts and cultural organizations, or health care providers—will anchor the effort. Each coalition will also determine its own evidence strategy and impact measures in collaboration with the Blueprint.   

Informed by the experience of Global Community NeuroArts Coalitions Network in West Palm Beach, Kansas City, and New York City, the NeuroArts Blueprint initiative is developing strategies to share existing coalition models and form partnerships among coalitions as they scale up. To inform the effort, we will continue to conduct research that identify the needs of potential and emerging coalitions. With an eye towards the long-term goal of developing a network of hundreds of local community arts-based health and wellbeing hives, our plans also call for developing a Community NeuroArts Coalition Field Guide and creating a learning community program.

Learn more about Existing Coalitions

• New York City, NY: Arts in Health
• Kansas City, MO ArtsKC
• Palm Beach County, FL: Palm Health Foundation

For more information, see the December 2022 webinar featuring the pilot coalitions in New York City and West Palm Beach. And take this survey to share your current activities and indicate your community’s interest in getting involved.