The Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Black Dog Institute have revealed that research has found that the Culture Dose for Kids, a flagship arts and mental health program has significantly reduced anxiety in children aged 9 to 12.
Designed to help children experiencing anxiety, the Culture Dose for Kids program has been delivered to more than 540 parents and children at the Art Gallery of NSW and across 14 regional New South Wales galleries.
‘With increasing social and environmental pressures, many worsened by climate disasters, it has never been more urgent to think outside the box when it comes to mental health care,’ says Professor Katherine Boydell, chief investigator for Culture Dose for Kids and director, arts-based knowledge translation lab at Black Dog Institute.
‘Programs like Culture Dose for Kids provide creative, innovative solutions, but more funding is essential to expand their reach and impact. As we approach another hot summer and the end of a busy year, it’s important to remember that art can nourish and revive us.’
Culture Dose for Kids is informed by the Art Gallery’s knowledge and experience in developing inclusive and multi-sensory access programs, including the Starting with Art program for school students with disability and the Art and Dementia program for people with lived experience of dementia and their care partners.
Art Gallery of New South Wales senior access programs producer, Danielle Gullotta, said, “Our Culture Dose for Kids program allows participants to observe, describe, imagine and interpret a work of art in a positive and safe environment. By regularly engaging in art-marking experiences and open-ended interpretation of artworks, individuals can process ideas and concepts that can be difficult to express in words. The report findings offer us concrete evidence that continuous engagement with art can support youth wellbeing and mental health and tells us that programs like Culture Dose for Kids are essential.”
