The Art Cure

Daisy Fancourt (author)

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 how:

• 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.

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 how:

    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.

Daisy Fancourt is Professor of Psychobiology and Epidemiology at University College London where she heads the Social Bio behavioural Research Group, and Director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health. She has published 300 scientific papers, won over two dozen academic prizes and is listed as one of the most highly cited scientists in the world. Daisy is also a multi-award-winning science communicator and has been named a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and BBC New Generation Thinker.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cornerstone Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ 8 Jan. 2026
Print length ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 9781529935530
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 546 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.3 x 3.2 x 24.3 cm