Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives

by Daisy Fancourt

A groundbreaking exposé showing how the arts—alongside diet, sleep, exercise and nature—are the forgotten fifth pillar of health

From cradle to grave, engaging in the arts has remarkable effects on our health and well-being. Music supports the architectural development of children’s brains. Artistic hobbies help our brains to stay resilient against dementia. Dance and magic tricks build new neural pathways for people with brain injuries. Arts and music act just like drugs to decrease depression, stress, and pain, reducing our dependence on medication. Going to live music events, museums, exhibitions, and the theater decreases our risk of future loneliness and frailty. Engaging in the arts improves the functioning of every major organ system in the body, even helping us to live longer.

This isn’t sensationalism, it’s the results of decades of studies gathering data from neuroimaging, molecular biomarkers, wearable sensors, cognitive assessments, and electronic health records. From professor Daisy Fancourt, an award-winning scientist and science communicator and director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre for Arts and Health, this book will fundamentally change the way you value and engage with the arts in your daily life and give you the tools to optimize how, when, and what arts you engage in to achieve your health goals. The arts are not a luxury in our lives. They are essential.

320 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication February 3, 2026

Reviews

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very fascinating book about how the arts are healing to us as humans. It was packed with information like scientific data, real examples of how people used art to heal, and it really got my creative juices flowing. My love of being crafty, painting, and creating makes more sense now and this book is immensely relatable for me. I am so motivated now to continue using the arts as a form of self care and healing for myself.
I received a review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nobody really has to convince me of the importance of the arts. Our family runs a free community arts center out of a rescued 125 year old church we bought in 2020 and stocked with donated art supplies, musical instruments, sewing machines, costumes, yarn, games, craft materials and more. Our whole family is involved with the arts from acting to songwriting to watercolor and poetry, and we know what it’s like to love the arts but not be able to afford the art experiences you want to take part in.

And still, this book left me much more convinced of the importance of art than I was to begin with.

Fancourt tells why the arts are so important –– not just for our enjoyment but truly for our mental and physical health. She uses true stories of people whose lives and health were saved by their introductions to art, along with countless studies and other real life examples. We learn about hospitals whose patients need less pain medication and recover from surgery faster when music and art are incorporated in their environments, children who are calmed before surgery by art experiences, and much more. She argues that rather than saying that art has countless benefits (which it does), we should be saying that not having access to art is linked to depression, illness, greater pain and even shorter lives.

The end has a prescription of sorts for how to include art in your regular practices the same way you prioritize exercise or good nutrition. Over a third of the book is references at the end, which I appreciate for scientific rigor but found a little frustrating because the book ended when I thought I was only 60% done. I’m not sure there’s any workaround for that but I was hoping for more inspiration on how to incorporate art in all different forms and all different ways into life. Even with all the art opportunities in my life, I find myself falling short of my recommended daily allowances, and I would have loved a huge creative menu of ideas to use for inspiration.

That said, this is an important book that every doctor, teacher, parent, politician and person should read. It really will inspire you to incorporate art into the lives of everyone you care about. Well recommended.

I read a digital ARC of this book via netgalley.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Art Cure" is about how doing art can help a person's health. The author has personally researched how arts can impact our health, from studies to see if more frequent arts engagement leads to better health outcomes over the years to specific experiments done to see how calming music can help in hospitals and similar ideas. She also included experiments done by others that show the impact that viewing or doing various arts (reading, dancing, making or listening to music, visiting the theater, etc.) can have on health outcomes. She gave examples, from singing to a premature baby to help the baby stay calm and thrive to teaching magic tricks as a way to make physical therapy fun for kids.

The author summarized how the various studies were set up and the results but also usually gave an example of a specific person to show how the principle has worked out in someone's actual, real life. She didn't get deep into the science except to explain just how much we could really conclude from the various studies. She ended each chapter by suggesting various ways we could practically use the information in that chapter: how long do we do an activity, how frequently, and what sort of arts might have the desired effect. I had no trouble following the author's points and found the information both interesting and something that I could easily act upon. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting book.

I received a free ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Cathy VanLear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fancourt’s Art Cure is a convincing read about the impact of art on our mental and physical health as well as our enjoyment! I love the true stories, countless studies, and real life examples which exemplify and attest to the science of the importance of art in our lives. The crisp, colorful cover made me want to dive right in and learn the value of art for me and those around me. The ending included ways to incorporate art into my daily routine and lifestyle leaving me inspired to begin being more involved in artistic activities starting today.

Thanks to Goodreads for the opportunity to read Art Cure and to Fancourt for the inspiration!

[Michelle Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daisy Fancourt's Art Cure was such an engaging book. I appreciated how inclusive Fancourt was in defining 'Art', and her writing is very accessible. She's conducted an impressive amount of research and shared fascinating anecdotes. I highly recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC.

[Castra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing and wonderful. Well written and full of references, which I love in science books. I have always believed in the arts and their healing power. My only gripe with this book is the lack of art in the book. This is a moment where I am asking myself "where are the pictures?"

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want some hopeful nonfiction, this is it! This book is an incredibly insightful and comprehensive look at art's positive impact on our health. Fancourt includes a lot of case studies and data to back up her claims, even going so far as to specify how art can benefit different systems of the body. Some of the data seemed a bit overstated (e.g., 33% vs. 26% doesn't feel like a HUGE difference, but it's still something!), but I was still very impressed and moved by this book. I loved reading the incredible stories about how people's lives were changed - even saved! - by engagement with the arts.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the free eARC! I post this review with my honest opinions.