Beyond the borders: The use of art participation for the promotion of health and well-being in Britain and Denmark

BACKGROUND: This article compares British and Danish promotion of well-being through participation in art activity to empower the individual. It examines the influence of national, social and political contexts on art and health community projects by comparing practice and project outcomes. METHOD: Based on two case studies, the article draws on specific evidence in Britain and Denmark. The approach taken is one of the psychosocial inquiries allowing reflection on practice including participants’ testimonies. RESULTS: The two cases showed comparable problems with restricted resources, funding and organisational limitations to service delivery. The British case study shows a bottom-up approach in contrast to the Danish case study where the approach is top-down. Although the benefits from participation in art activities in the two countries were influenced by a complex set of different interacting factors, outcomes were typically similarly positive: finding identity, feeling a sense of well-being and increased self-confidence. CONCLUSION: In terms of practice, policy and research and in the recognition of value of art participation, the comparison demonstrates how different stories, contexts and institutions engage in different ways to facilitate and enable service users as well as generating different challenges; recognising the benefits of developing best practice guidelines in art practice in health settings.