What is connection to arts and culture?
Connection to arts and culture is the experience of engaging with creative expression in ways that evoke emotion, spark reflection, and affirm our shared humanity. These forms of expression include:
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music
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dance
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theater
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literature
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film
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visual art
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cultural rituals
These experiences can be deeply personal or profoundly communal. Whether you're moved by a painting, swept up in a song, or part of a cultural tradition passed through generations, connecting to art and culture offers a sense of resonance that goes beyond words.
Pathways to connection with arts and culture
You don’t have to be an artist to connect through the arts. The power lies in the act of engaging with openness, attention, and presence. People form connections through:
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viewing or listening (visiting a museum, watching a film, attending a concert or play)
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participating (dancing, singing, writing, painting, crafting, storytelling)
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sharing experiences (watching TV with others, attending cultural festivals)
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holding traditions (practicing or preserving rituals, clothing, or language rooted in identity)
Benefits of connecting with arts and culture
Engaging with the arts and cultural expression enhances well-being in ways that are emotional, social, and even physical. These benefits include:
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positive emotions
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a greater sense of meaning and identity
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social bonding
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stress reduction
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creative activation
Whether through a brushstroke, a lyric, a drumbeat, or a ritual, the arts invite us to feel more, imagine more, and connect more—both within ourselves and across differences.
Recommended readings
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Ivy Ross and Susan Magsamen
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
References
Cotter, K. N., & Pawelski, J. O. (2022). Art museums as institutions for human flourishing. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 17(2), 288–302. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2021.2016911
Coopersmith, J. (2023). Musical flourishes: Lessons from a conservatory. In A. H. Celenza (Ed.), Music and human flourishing (1st ed., pp. 19-C1P70). Oxford University Press, New York. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197646748.003.0002
Dunbar, R. I. M., Teasdale, B., Thompson, J., Budelmann, F., Duncan, S., Van Emde Boas, E., & Maguire, L. (2016). Emotional arousal when watching drama increases pain threshold and social bonding. Royal Society Open Science, 3(9), 160288. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160288
Fredrickson B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. The American psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.56.3.218
Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). Positive emotions broaden and build. In Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 47, pp. 1–53). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407236-7.00001-2
Pearce, E., Launay, J., & Dunbar, R. I. M. (2015). The ice-breaker effect: Singing mediates fast social bonding. Royal Society Open Science, 2(10), 150221. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.150221
Schneider, C., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2022). Love and Other Positive Emotions in Contemporary Visual and Social Practice Art. In L. Tay & J. O. Pawelski (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Positive Humanities (1st ed., pp. 301–316). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190064570.013.26
Tay, L., & Pawelski, J. O. (2022). Introduction: The role of the arts and humanities in human flourishing. In L. Tay & J. O. Pawelski (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of the Positive Humanities (1st ed., pp. 3–16). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190064570.013.42