Dancing with Parkinson’s, drawing while living with depression, music during surgery — art is playing an increasingly important role in our healthcare system.
“When people with Parkinson’s disease dance, their speech and mood improve, and their movements become more fluid,” says Tineke Abma. She has been a professor of Art & Care at Erasmus University Rotterdam for a year now.
“It is the first academic chair in the Netherlands — and perhaps even worldwide — that is entirely dedicated to the impact of art, culture, and creativity on people’s health and well-being,”
Tineke explains. The position suits her perfectly. “I’ve always been a great lover of the arts. As a girl, I spent all my time drawing. And I was dancing.”
After completing her nursing degree, she went on to study Health Policy and Management at Erasmus University Rotterdam. In her research on patients with depression and psychosis, she discovered that their experiences can be explored very effectively through photos and drawings.
Dancing with Parkinson’s
The Chair of Art & Care was established through a collaboration between care organization Cordaan, Museum van de Geest, and the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management.
Tineke also sees how, in Rotterdam—the city she has lived in for forty years—art is increasingly being used in healthcare. “We are conducting research with Marc Vlemmix. He runs a dance company for people with Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatism.
He himself also has Parkinson’s. He rehearses in the Luxor Theater, which during the day offers space to cultural creators from the city. Our research shows that the dancers feel like human beings again rather than patients. By being part of a social group, they feel rooted, seen, and heard once more. They feel that they belong.”
Ask people to draw their body, and you’ll get a completely different and much deeper story.
Rolemodels
The same is true for Mich Simon. As spoken word artist YoungMichPoetry, he creates performances and collaborates with organisations such as the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.
“He grew up in Rotterdam South and is dedicated to supporting young people dealing with poverty, debt and addiction. These are topics often surrounded by shame. Mitch encourages them to express their experiences through art.”
He serves as a role model and offers young people opportunities to work at his production house, FLOW.
“He has a real mission: to help people from his own community become visible and, when they have talent, to support their journey into cultural institutions.”
Music as Medicine
Tineke also collaborates with healthcare institutions such as Erasmus MC. She developed an honours class for medical students, enabling them to learn early in their training how to apply art and creativity in their work. A powerful example of this is the Music as Medicine program, developed by surgeons and anesthesiologists at Erasmus MC.
“The biggest issues faced by people undergoing surgery are pain, anxiety, and stress. For ten years now, they have been conducting research in which patients listen to music during and after their operations. And they see that it works: patients experience less pain, less stress, less anxiety, and they sleep better. Satisfaction with the hospital stay increases. Moreover, they are discharged more quickly — and that, of course, also reduces costs.”
Investing in arts in healthcare is highly cost-effective.
Scientific foundation
This is exactly the kind of approach that should resonate with healthcare leaders and policymakers. Through the scientific foundation of the Chair of Arts & Care, Tineke is able to reach these audiences.
“Research conducted at healthcare organisation Cordaan shows that every euro invested in arts and culture generates €3.50 in social return.
This includes improvements in quality of life, greater job satisfaction among healthcare professionals, and reduced costs for both healthcare insurers and municipalities. From an economic perspective, investing in arts in healthcare is highly effective.”
Manchester
With that perspective in mind, it’s no surprise that Tineke, together with Said Kasmi, Rotterdam’s alderman for Education, Culture and Events, visited Manchester to explore the Creative Health programme. “Manchester is a city much like Rotterdam — historically a port and industrial city, with a relatively low-income population. We know that health is strongly influenced by social factors. With Creative Health, they have connected art and culture with prevention and healthcare, and developed joint policies on how to help Manchester’s residents become healthier — and stay healthy — through the use of arts and culture. And the results are promising.”
Introduce them to capoeira, dance and drumming. Let them experience how these activities can help them feel calmer, less stressed and happier.
According to Tineke, Rotterdam should make much greater use of arts and culture as a way to improve public health.
“Soon, we will host a large town hall meeting that brings together all stakeholders in the city—including healthcare insurers, the municipality, healthcare providers, cultural organisations, residents and people with lived experience—to take the next steps together.”
Arts in Everyday Life
According to Tineke, socially engaged arts initiatives across the city—such as Marc Vlemmix Dance Company and YMP—should be strengthened so they can reach even more people.
She also believes arts education for children deserves greater attention, as not every child grows up with access to culture.
In Tineke’s view, art used to be much more integrated into everyday life—and that is something society should rediscover.
“People sometimes need to overcome a threshold. But once they do, there’s no stopping them. They inspire others to join in and want to keep going. That’s something truly beautiful.”
Fotographics: Rosan Chinnoe and Fenna Schaap.
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