Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health

by Daisy Fancourt

Discover how art can improve our health, make us happier and even help us live longer with the inspiring new book from the award-winning scientist and world-leading expert.

'Every day we are overwhelmed by advice on how to live better. Art Cure is an amazing antidote to the deluge of nonsense . . . Everyone should read this.' XAND VAN TULLEKEN, doctor and presenter

'Elegantly distils the evidence for what we have always intuitively felt; that music, literature, cinema, and art are powerful universal remedies . . . A book for our times.' GILLIAN ANDERSON, bestselling author, actress and activist

DIET. SLEEP. EXERCISE. NATURE. ARTS?

Many of us consider making and consuming art to be a hobby, or even a luxury. But what if arts engagement – from classical music to salsa, poetry to pop concerts, galleries to graffiti – was in fact one of our most powerful tools for unlocking health and happiness?

What if art could help you live longer – and even save your life?

In Art Cure, world-leading expert and award-winning scientist Professor Daisy Fancourt reveals the life-changing power of the arts, including


Songs support the architectural development of children’s brains.Creative hobbies help our brains to stay resilient against dementia.Visual art and music act just like drugs to reduce depression, stress, and pain.Dance build new neural pathways for people with brain injuries.Going to live music events, museums, exhibitions, and the theatre decreases our risk of future loneliness and frailty.Engaging in the arts improves the functioning of every major organ system in the body.And, perhaps most importantly, how art helps us not only to survive, but to thrive and flourish.

Fancourt draws on ground-breaking research in neuroscience, psychology, immunology, physiology, behavioural science and epidemiology, as well as inspiring true stories of people who have experienced radical changes in their health, to empower readers to improve their own health through the arts.

Informed by the results of decades of scientific studies, Art Cure is the must-read, inspiring guide to improving your health, giving you the tools to write your own 'arts prescription'.


'A revelation . . . Could not be more timely, nor make a stronger, more urgent case for placing the arts at the centre of our communities.' MELYN BRAGG, broadcaster and parliamentarian

'Fascinating, comprehensive, compelling, inspiring.' DR CHRISTOPHER BAILEY, World Health Organization

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Art, Science

Audible Audio

Published January 8, 2026

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a doctor myself, I wish that all healthcare professionals and policy makes would read this book and understand the incredible impact it would have if the findings were implemented as the norm.
If I suggested doing more art to many patients, I think they'd be surprised. I would love to work in a world where of course the arts would be part of healthcare. 
Daisy's work is phenomenal - the world needs more researchers like her! 

[Mya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting but not ground breaking if you are at all familiar with, or involved in, the arts. Many benefits discussed are already self-evident and/or self-explantory and known to general society. The definition of "health" is also expansive (including some indirect influences such as child language development and identity formation) and focuses a lot on the eldery, disabled/ill and developing children, with just a few paragraphs ending each chapter about what the general population can learn from this.

As an arts lover and academic, Fancourt is preaching to the choir with me as a reader and I was ready to learn. But I didn't particularly learn anything new. It was also frustrating that all of the arts (creation and consumption; music, dance, theatre, drawing etc.) were often all lumped together by outcome, and often the main focus was just music or traditional paint/drawing art. This made lots of sections feel repetitive. Sometimes I wish she'd explored the outcomes by the benefits of the specific forms of art (e.g. creation vs consumption; how reading helps; how writing helps).
For example, creative writing and dancing - or watching dancing on stage or tv- OBVIOUSLY all influence or brain and bodies in different ways, but these differences are not explored.

I am also surprised that for a world-leading academic that this wasn't written in the most accessible way. Excessive long dragged-on paragraphs that contained multiple ideas (clearly should've been separated out) make it difficult and boring to follow (and I'm an academic who writes and reads research papers!) By the end, it was a slog to read and I kept putting it off but I just wanted it done.

It was also thoroughly disappointing that at no point did Fancourt use any illustrations to make her points clearer - e.g. an illustration/diagram/drawing of art as 5th pillar, "daily dose" advice - and would tie in with the book but fundamentally make this information more translatable and accessible for the general public (which is the book's aim). Could've even included (or linked to) an blank table for the "daily doses" she encouraged people to write in every chapter. I felt particularly disappointed in the unimaginative and inaccessible execution from a leading academic. Especially as the content itself is much shorter than the book appears due to the extensive reference list (which is excellent and transparent to provide).

Anyway, support the arts, particularly your local arts venues and artists, create more art yourself, and get your daily dose. 🎨 🎭🪡🧶🌈

[Chloe Daily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter 7 saved this… honestly I wish the whole book had been this type of exploration

[Nick Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring and practical.

[W.S. Luk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Click here for my full review.

“Art […] is the forgotten fifth pillar of health.”

Art is useless. That’s not an insult—that’s how it’s been defined for centuries. A young James Joyce wrote that practical objects like beds could never be artistic, because art exists only to be contemplated for its beauty. This argument, expressed by thinkers as different as Kant and Wilde, sees art as inherently lacking practical purpose, created for a cerebral world of the purely aesthetic.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop art from being damn good for us, as Daisy Fancourt’s research reveals. From video documentaries used to prevent Ebola’s spread, to magic tricks that help children with cerebral palsy build motor skills, ART CURE showcases the tangible benefits of making and engaging with art. Fancourt not only offers “Daily dose” suggestions for applying these insights towards issues like stress and ageing, but also examines the wider societal barriers that make the arts inaccessible.

One of Fancourt’s interviewees, Deb, struggled all her life with conditions including bipolar disorder and anxiety, and never expected that joining an “art for well-being” class would transform her mental health. Reflecting on that decision years later, she tells Fancourt bluntly, “My plan was to get discharged from hospital and try and kill myself again. If it hadn’t been for that art class, I wouldn’t be here.”...

[Fi · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, Professor Fancourt, both an artist and a scientist herself, suggests that regular arts engagement can be hugely beneficial to our health. It’s not only limited to emotional wellbeing, but also physical health, such as improving the functioning of our major organs, slowing down the aging process and even helping us to live longer. It is packed with interesting research findings, personal stories and practical tips. I love her idea of promoting arts as a core pillar of health, arguing that arts engagement is potentially as important as diet, exercise, sleep and nature. As the writer has rightly pointed out, we live in a world where arts are increasingly devalued, we need a book like this to remind us about the beauty of the arts, if nothing else.

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling, evidenced case for integrating art into your life. Given the author explains that screen-based arts don’t have the benefits of other, more participative arts, the section on a TV show was incongruous and a bit tedious - the book fell a bit flat in that part, which didn’t seem to belong. Would have preferred more on performance arts, but otherwise this book presents a strong, engaging justification. Probably works better as a physical book so the reader can linger over the recommendations which evaporate quickly when listening to the audiobook.