Weapons of Mass Happiness: Social Justice and Health Equity in the Context of the Arts

Abstract

There is a paradigm shift taking place in the way public health, social care and well-being are understood. The arts have a powerful part to play in this process, but for artists, there are challenges to remaining authentic to practice in the face of limited fiscal resources, access to the arts for marginalised people, and a culture of competition. This chapter explores the ways in which art and artists can empower new ways of thinking, being and doing. From jazz and blues to twenty-first-century dementia care, this chapter examines the power of the arts, its manipulation by those with power and calls for a reimagining of the arts and health agenda through a lens of social justice.