Meanwhile in America...

Alyssa Rosenberg at Think Progress explains “Why The Affordable Care Act Matters To Artists”

It’s not yet clear how many people purchased insurance through the exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act that opened up yesterday. But one of the things I’ve been hearing from a lot of creative people is that the ACA has made it easy to be, or to contemplate being, an artist. Being a writer, or a visual artist, or a musician, or an actor, has always been an economically risky choice where a few people succeed in dramatic terms, a larger number figure out middle-class existences doing what they love at least part of the time, and others struggle to do what they love. The ACA, and the ability to purchase more affordable insurance as an individual, doesn’t change that economic calculus. But it does help minimize a risk factor that can make it impossible to attempt careers as artists at all.

Link

Artists 'better protected' against dementia, study finds

Art and music are less vulnerable to cognitive decline, a new Canadian study suggests.

Neurologists at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto found that artists suffering from vascular dementia may still be able to draw spontaneously and from memory, despite being unable to complete simple, everyday tasks.

"We discovered that there is a disproportion between the degree that artists lose some of their memory function, their orientation and other day-to-day cognitive functions. But at the same time, some of their art form is preserved," Dr. Luis Fornazzari, a neurological consultant at St. Michael’s Hospital memory clinic and lead author of the paper, told CBC News.

Artists compared with non-artists are better protected, he added. "Due to their art, the brain is better protected [against] diseases like Alzheimer's, vascular dementia, and even strokes. They have more reserve in their brain in order to give functions.

"So [we know], based on other neuroscience studies, that art in any of its forms uses different neuronal avenues inside the brain to do their work. And the activity, the talent and the art per se gives reserve when the brain requires that reserve.

CBC: Link.

Arts Health Network Canada

The Arts Health Network Canada and its first provincial chapter, Arts Health Network Canada-BC, is a new resource for Canadian artists!

The aim of the organization is to connect arts and health practitioners in Canada with each other, researchers, decision-makers, and with members of the public who want to benefit from arts and health programs Their website is intended as one step towards helping facilitate those connections. The website is designed as an all-inclusive hub where arts and health users and the public can go to learn about and contribute to knowledge about the ever-growing field of arts and health in Canada.

Their website hosts information on arts and health, including: a beginning list of resources ranging from books, film, and websites to reports, magazines, and academic journal articles; new and ongoing initiatives taking place across Canada; national and international research projects; upcoming and ongoing events, classes, and workshops; and an arts and health news feed.

The organization intends to make the website as comprehensive and informative as possible about arts and health activities taking place across Canada. To do so, they want input!

To contribute information about arts and health related events, initiatives, and  / or resources, please send an email to them.