Introduction

Combining arts and health is seen as a potential solution to demographic and social challenges that have transformed experiences of health and disease, often revealing the limitations of technological medicine. Since the 1960s, scientific medicine, which had dominated understanding of health and disease from after the European Enlightenment until the middle of the 20th century, has been subjected to sustained critique. A shift in thinking within the arts coincided with the changing perspectives on health and disease away from scientific medicine towards more holistic models of health and care. The arts and health movement challenges fundamental ideas about the nature of creativity that have shaped the development of arts in modern European societies. Senior policy makers have spoken in support of integrating arts and creativity at every stage of healthcare. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.