The Healing Power of Art

Image by Bailey Zindel on Unsplash

I recently ran across a podcast where the host interviewed two authors who had completed a book about how art heals. You can listen here. Psychology Today also has an article about the healing power of art. If you type “healing power of art” into a search engine, you’ll be bombarded with articles, including some from the National Institute of Health.

The healing power of art is a thing, whether you’re making it, or experiencing it.

I had two thoughts.

First, I have experience with this. The paintings hanging on my walls and the objects decorating my condo performed a profoundly healing service for me. It represented two things—the freedom I had to decorate any way I wanted, and the opportunity to develop my own aesthetic sense. I’m not a trained eye, but I got better at recognizing what art I would enjoy living with long term. When I would come home and open the front door, all the art greeted me like a welcoming friend. Not only is the healing power of art a thing, it’s real for me personally.

My next thought: is this healing power something you could use to market your art?

The answer is yes.

We don’t talk about this much, but there is a concrete target market for art that is soothing and healing (think therapeutic settings like hospitals and rehab centers), as well as commercial buildings and hotels.

Maybe your art is peaceful and beautiful. Or maybe it’s provocative and challenging, or something else entirely. In each case, there are people who want and need different kinds of art.

Because your work matters, it’s worth your time to figure out who wants and needs yours.