Some thoughts on social prescription and the arts

Social prescription (SP) entails a model of care where healthcare professionals can help address the social determinants of health by prescribing non-medical activities such as time in community volunteering, time in nature or the arts. Arts-based SP aims to use the power of creative engagement to decrease isolation and loneliness and promote quality of life. I am a neuroscientist and practitioner of a traditional Indian dance form called Bharatanatyam. I work at the intersection of the arts and the sciences and am creating the foundation to use Bharatanatyam for creative ageing. While the arts have immense therapeutic power, in this article, I raise some questions on the application of arts-based SP programmes, especially where traditional art forms such as Bharatanatyam are in question. I suggest that arts-based SP programmes can foster a transactional relationship with the arts, hurting the art form and its practitioners. I also pose some inquiries on the evaluation of these art forms and the impacts of this assessment on the art form in question. The goal of this paper is to enter into dialog with artists, arts practitioners, funders and the public on the use of the arts as a prescription.