Health Through Art

Health Through Art is a community health advocacy project that began in 1989 to counteract the power of advertisers and the mass media to entice the public to engage in unhealthy habits and attitudes. The foundation of the project are the beliefs that inspiring individual creativity generates a healing power within the community and that community generate public art generated engenders community pride.

Every other year, the Health Through Art project makes a call for art to the community. The selection process is intensive and community based. Focus groups are held with all segments of society and among all age-groups, the artwork is developed in the community and selected by an advisory board. The artwork is publicly displayed utilizing a comprehensive marketing strategy and through a Roving Art Show of all submitted pieces of art with a health promotion message.

Aside from the calls for art, Health Through Art collaborates with community organizations such as Stop the Violence Coalition. Collaborations such as this have produced two murals in inner city Oakland that promote healthy lifestyle choices and the prevention of violence.

To use the powerful methods of mass media to market positive attitudes and healthy lifestyle choices and to provide dynamic messages against substance abuse, racism, violence and mental health stigma.

Since 1989, more than 2,800 community created messages have been displayed in over 1,500 sites. Health Through Art has been awarded many awards for their contributions to health promotion. Most recently, Health Through Art has won the Blair L. Sadler International Healing Arts First Place award for using arts in the healing process (2003), Outstanding Achievement in Prevention by the County Alcohol and Drug Administrators Association of California (2007) and special recognition for 20 years of outstanding community service by the Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services (2009).