Arts on Prescription (E.96)

Happiness for Cynics podcast

This week, Marie and Pete talk about arts on prescription and how it might be part of the solution to your happiness needs.

Show notes

Street Art

During the podcast Pete references a story in which the Mayor of Melbourne, Australia, has contracted street artists to revitalise the streets after such long and stressful lockdowns. These artists are going to be paid up to $20,000 for their art.

Battle of the Somme

During the podcast Pete talks about a picture taken at the Battle of the Somme but incorrectly references it to WWII. The battle was fought between 1^st of July and the 18^th of November 2016 during WWI. We apologise for this mistake.

Neighbourlytics – https://neighbourlytics.com/ 

Urbantech company equipping the property industry, governments and consultancies with lifestyle data on neighbourhoods. 

Transcript

[Happy intro music -background] 

M: Welcome to happiness for cynics and thanks for joining us as we explore all the things I wish I’d known earlier in life but didn’t. 

P: This podcast is about how to live the good life. Whether we’re talking about a new study or the latest news or eastern philosophy, our show is all about discovering what makes people happy. 

M: So, if you’re like me and you want more out of life, listen in and more importantly, buy in because I guarantee if you do, the science of happiness can change your life. 

P: Plus, sometimes I think we’re kind of funny. 

[Intro music fadeout] 

M: Let’s go.

P: Hi!

M: We’re here.

P: We’re queer.

P: We are queer, aren’t we?

M: Yep.

P: Laugh.

M: We are queer ally, at least.

P: Laugh. Such an ally. You’re more than an ally.

M: In the traditional sense of the word, very queer.

P & M: Laugh.

M: My mom uses queer in a very weird way, laugh! “They’re all queer!”

P: I’m like “Ok Mum.” Laugh.

M: A lot of these words in the LGBTQI++ community had meaning before, like gay just meant happy.

P: Mmm. Well, language in itself evolves and changes and shifts, and I find myself going, “Oh, what does that mean now?” I’m not up on the latest language and correctness and all that sort of stuff.

M: I saw a fabulous screenshot of a conversation where someone texts, what’s for dinner? And the person used emojis to put an eggplant and some cheese on there and the guy was like –

P: Laugh!

M: – dick cheese???

P: Exuberant laughter.

M: It was eggplant parmigiana, laugh.

P: Ah. That is not where I went with that!

M & P: Laugh!

M: No.

P: Laugh, anyway. Let’s, let’s elevate out of the gutter for a little bit shall we.

M: Let’s move on.

P: Still laughing.

So, this week, we’re doing a little bit of a reflection, aren’t we? We’re looking back.

M: What?

P: Oh, we’re revisiting some things that we’ve actually got going across before. I came across this article this week from the conversation which I flicked to you –

M: Mmm hmm.

P: – and we both have a little read.

And this is a bit of a testament to the podcast itself that I’m sort of now aware of things much more in the media when I read articles and studies and I’m like, ‘Oh, I know what that means,’ And ‘that’s because of this, this, this.’

M: Mmm hmm.

P: Because of the investigations that we’ve gone through here on the podcast as we approach our 100th episode.

M: Oh!

P: Ba ba dum!

M: Which is very exciting.

P: Very exciting. But this article was talking about the fact that happiness is becoming more expensive and out of reach for many Australians, and I think this also applies to American listeners.

M: Oh, ah no. Not more expensive.

P: Mmm?

M: So, as we’ve discussed before with Maslow’s hierarchy, there are certain things you need to just… like your basics, your foundations, that you need to have.

P: Mmm hmm.

M: Security, shelter, food, et cetera.

P: Ok.

M: And from there you can be happy once you’ve got those basic needs met.

P: Yes.

M: So, the base level of income that you need to have those basic needs met has gone up.

P: Okay, yes.

M: And that would make sense because there’s inflation.

P: Yeah, it’s gone up… They’re mapping it in Australia, and it has gone up from, let me get my facts straight here –

M: – 43 to 74 thousand (AU$).

P: Thank you very much, Marie.

M: And we’ve discussed this before. We might not have actually spoken about $74,000 in Australia, I know we’ve used US metrics in the past.

P: Mmm.

M: But a really good reminder, as you were saying that if you want to be free from worry and stress –

P: Mmm hmm.

M: – about those things, like how to feed your family and put petrol and car etcetera and have your basics covered, then $74,000 is the income you need to aim for, strive for.

P: Mmm. Sadly, in Australia’s case, the amount of people that actually have access to that 74K income is dropping. So, the number of Australians on the income below that, what we call the change point, which is the $74,000 has increased from 60% to 74%.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: And I think that’s the point that the article is making is that more people are now falling below that change point income, and that’s going to prove a problem in the future if this trend continues. And what I was reflecting on when reading this article was that I was the person that if you’d asked me two years ago, does money buy happiness? I would have given you a resounding no, and said, ‘No, definitely not!’

M: It doesn’t, it’s not what this says.

P: It doesn’t but it makes it a damn sight easier to have access to it when you have a certain income, or you have the ability to –

M: I think the lesson here is that money enables you to be free from things that detract from happiness, and then after you get to that $74,000 a year income level. What you do with your money can contribute to happiness, absolutely, and we’re about to get into the real point of this episode here and what we really wanted to talk about. But again, we saw this news. Both of us read it. And we’re like, did you see this?

P: Laugh! We talked about this a year ago.

M: And again, once you’ve got your basic needs met once you’ve met that $74,000 income in Australia, that’s what it costs to live free from financial stress.

P: Yeah.

M: And to live free from other stresses and worries that are what we’ve called negative affect.

P: Yeah.

M: So once you clear that benchmark, then what you do after that is within your control.

P: It’s very true, and the authors who are Richard Morris and Nick Glozier, they do mention that in the article where they say, “Income by itself doesn’t explain a large proportion of variance in happiness.”

M: Mmm hmm.

P: So, you’re absolutely right there. But it still made me sort of prick my ears up and think, ‘Yes, so politics and economics and all those big, big pebbles do have an influence on people’s happiness levels, there is a link there.

M: Yeah.

P: And that’s the, that’s the take home message that drew, that I drew from this article for me was that you think it doesn’t matter, but it actually does and so it’s really important that those of us who are above that 74K understand that maybe and realise that we are in a beneficial position. But to canvass.

M: To be grateful for.

P: Yes, absolutely. But there’s a social responsibility as well to canvas, to advocate for things like basic minimum wages and things like that. And be really aware that these things matter to the bulk of the population and as a result your society in which you live, and you participate.

M: It really comes down to what do you value in society? I’d love to live in a world where everyone has a basic level of income that enables them not to have to worry about how to put food on the table or get to work or clothes on their kid’s backs, etcetera.

P: Yes, exactly.

M: And where we can all, and I know that sounds really idealistic and I am an optimist.

P: Laugh!

M: I will say. But some countries are playing around with these ideas, and UBI – Universal Basic Income- is a fascinating topic. Imagine if every person in your society could have a $74,000 income and then you get to decide what you want to do with your time every day or week.

P: Yeah, that’s a big change.

M: Yeah, Definitely. So anyway, what we were going to talk about today and what I’m excited to explore a little bit because we haven’t spent much time on this topic is something called Arts on Prescription.

P: Mmm.

M: And it comes from an article that we read in The Canberra Times, Canberra Times Magazine, about a gentleman called Patrick McIntyre, who is the CEO of the National Film and Sound Archive. And his thinking about the impact of ballet and film and dance and opera and all of the arts and how that can impact people’s happiness.

P: Mmm.

M: And so, we started out talking about needing the 74,000 just to get your house in order.

P: Yep.

M: So, if you have 75[K] what do you do with that extra thousand is really what we’re talking about here.

P: Ha ha, yep.

M: And we know that buying houses and cars and good clothes and nice shoes and all of that will not bring you happiness.

P: Yes.

M: We also know that doing things like practising gratitude, spending time with friends and family, you know, there are many, many things that you can do that are free that will bring in happiness.

P: Yeah.

M: But if you do have extra money on top of that 74[K] another great way to spend that money to bring yourself happiness is to spend it on experience.

P: Which we talked about before. And that’s such a valuable, valuable investment.

M: Absolutely. Buying stuff won’t help you to build your happiness, but experiences will.

P: The hedonistic treadmill!

M: Absolutely. And so, what Patrick McIntyre is arguing for is for all of us to go prescribe ourselves some art.

P: Laugh! That’s on prescription.

M: Yes.

P: We’ve touched on this before and one of our other episodes about cityscapes, and we talked about the programme that is social prescription in the UK.

M: Yes.

P: That the UK health system are prescribing for mental health and for advancing better mental health in the community. Instead of prescribing people for doctors, they’re sending them into community centres. They’re targeting the organisations that can help bring about a sense of community and get people out there socialising, which we know is one of the pillars of happiness is keeping social connections. Laugh, ergo Marie Skelton.

M & P: Laugh.

P: Writer extraordinaire and happiness expert.

M: We talk about health and wellbeing as one of the other pillars in there.

P: Mmm.

M: And this is really one of those intangible but fabulous ways to get yourself engaging with your surroundings in a mindful way.

P: Mmm yes.

M: And learning and growing that growth mindset. And so, Patrick is probably a bit extreme. He may have a bias here.

P: Laugh. He’s worked in the Arts for 20 years.

M: He says, “Culture is everything. Once we’re fed and sheltered, everything beyond that is culture.”

P: Mmm, yes. That’s a big claim.

M: Mmm hmm. Now Maslow didn’t agree, there are a whole lot of other things in there, like self-actualisation and all the things that we talk about.

P: Yep, yep.

M: But I think there’s something to this, though.

P: I agree. Yeah, it’s a lovely concept.

M: And I know we had a friend who, during lockdown on his daily exercise walks, was spending time going through Newtown and the Inner West area and finding street art and posting it.

P: Yeah, and so much.

M: Yeah, there’s so much, it’s kind of like Chile, they have Valparaiso, which is famous and well known for its street art.

M: We’re kind of becoming like that here in Newtown. It’s fun and I like it.

P: Yeah. Well, the Mayor of Melbourne recently was on ABC News, which is our local broadcaster here in Australia. Melbourne City Council has just thrown, I’m gonna get my figures wrong here, so do forgive me. I think it’s $11,000 at a selection of 30 street artists to take to the alleys in Melbourne to revitalise Melbourne as they come out of lockdown.

M: $11,000? Each? It had to be each.

P: I’m not sure about the figures, don’t quote me on that.

M: Otherwise, that’s really piss-poor.

P: Yeah, I’m not sure about the figures. But she was, she was saying that, you know, we are the street art capital of Australia.

M: Oh! Here we go, laugh.

P: Oohh! It’s on! The [gauntlet] has been thrown.

M: Sydney, accepts your challenge, Melbourne.

P: Laugh! But I think it’s, I think it’s again it buys into so many different cities that we’ve seen, and we’ve mentioned before, like Vancouver and Berlin, that pay their artists to get out there and take over the streetscape.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: And create places where people do gather, socialist, congregate and use those spaces.

M: And experience the art.

P: Yes, definitely.

M: Yeah. And so, our friend spent a lot of time exploring his neighbourhood, and it became almost a little game to see what else you could find, what else you could post and share.

P: Yeah.

M: So, there was the social aspect of showing friends, you know, what he was discovering every day and discovering new things and taking photos, and they’ll pop up on his Facebook.

P: Yeah.

M: Next year again.

P: Good use of social media.

M: Yep, and he’ll be able to revisit that and the experience of exploring his neighbourhood to find art.

P: Mmm.

M: Having said that, there are also so many museums in nearly every large city around the world. And I guarantee you, the longer you’ve been in a city, the less familiar you are with its museums.

P: Yeah, I’ll give you that. I’ve never really visited museums in the city that I’ve lived in.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: I’ve always done it when I travel, usually because it’s a time thing.

M: Yep.

P: I’ve got the time to wander into a museum. But I can relate a personal story here. I think it was the second time that I went to London, and I was on my own and it was freezing. It was so cold, and I was walking up towards Shaftesbury Avenue and it started to really rain, and I didn’t have a brolly [umbrella]. I was like ‘What am I going to do?’

M: Laugh.

P: And I ducked into a door that was open and it happened to be the National Portrait Gallery.

M: Aww.

P: And it was cold, and I was like in there, and I was shaking myself down and this person said, ‘Would you like a headset?’ And I was like, ‘Excuse me?’

M: Laugh.

P: ‘Are you coming in?’ I went, ‘Where am I?’

M & P: Laugh.

P: A long story short. I bought a headset.

M: Short story?

P: Short, short story. I got a headset, and I did this wonderful tour through the National Portrait Gallery. I was there for an hour and a half, and that was my first real museum experience. And I loved it and it hooked me. And I was so intrigued. And it was because I had the headphones, and I got the stories behind the paintings and behind the sculptures.

M: Yep. Well speaking of stories and speaking of the social connection and social cohesion, so many of these museums and art, so dance, theatre; They’re essentially storytelling.

P: Yes.

M: They’re telling the culture, telling the story of our culture. So, there is so much more to experiencing your own culture through painting or through dance, or that can bring to your life.

P: Yeah.

M: And we really, if we can afford it. And oftentimes there are many free museums out there as well. We really should be looking to lock in two trips next year, kind of getting to the end of this year, it’s time to be setting some goals, putting in some activities into your resilience planner. Thanks, Pete.

P: Laugh.

M: Your 2022 calendar. So, as you’re looking at, what trips can you take through the year, have a look at what free museums or performances are out there. Or, you know, if you’ve got a little bit of money aside that you can put towards it. These are great ways to plan for something. And we’ve spoken about the importance of planning for things and looking forward for things and hope.

P: Oh yes.

M: But also, they can really bring a lot of happiness.

P: Totally. You can even go even more local than that, like I was walking past my local church. Now this church is in Australia it’s old, it’s like 150 years old.

M: It’s ANCIENT!

P: Our European listeners are probably like, ‘what?!’ Laugh. But it’s this really lovely stone church and its opposite my greengrocer and I walk past it every week, and this week I walked past it and went, ‘Oh yes, live music is coming back.’ Chamber orchestras, quartets, performing in churches. It makes such sense because they’re brilliant sound acoustic areas.

But it’s that combining of culture, as you say, I mean, this is a local peace, and often you will find little local performances that are free and lunchtime concerts and so forth. And they’re a brilliant way to tap into that culture. If maybe you are a little bit reticent about buying a subscription to the Sydney Symphony or the theatre Company or the dance company.

M: There’s too many different ones to buy subscriptions to every single one of them.

P: Laugh. That’s where your friends are really important because they can get the subscription and take you along as a handbag.

M: Okay, great. I’ll lock you in for that.

P: Aahh! I’m a poor student!

M: Laugh.

P: Oh, I get student rates now. Yay!

M: Laugh!

P: I can get student price, I didn’t think of that.

M & P: Laughter!

M: I love it, I’m in.

P: Laugh.

M: So, I can’t remember before, I just wasn’t listening to you Pete, sorry.

P: Oh, no. All good.

M: Whether you mentioned any of the stats?

P: Laugh! I’ll just babble over here in the corner, laugh. I’m here for light amusement.

M & P: Laughter!

M: So, you did mention the Arts on Prescription programme in the UK, which we have mentioned before, but for those of you who are interested in the stats here, that programme was designed to address mental health issues.

So, people with depression, anxiety and a raft of other mental health conditions they were prescribed arts, so trips to museums and Theatre etcetera. And through that programme they saw a

• 37% drop in GP visits.

P: Huge.

M: Which is General Practitioner or just your local doctor for people outside of Australia and a

• 39% reduction in hospital admissions.

P: Big numbers.

M: Absolutely.

P: Really effective, and I know that the Australian government is looking at rolling out a similar program here in Australia on the basis of the success that it’s had in the UK.

M: Yeah, and the other thing is just the GDP [Gross Domestic Product] that the arts industry brings to any local economy, and they’ve really had it tough in the past 18 months.

P: They have. Yep, yep.

M: So, if we can start reinvesting in local theatre companies and performances over Christmas, there’s going to be a lot coming up over our summer months in Australia. But just a lot generally opening up around the world, if we can start reinvesting in that the benefits for society are huge.

P: Yeah. I was watching a show this morning that was talking about World War I and it struck me how amazing it was that we’ve got these images of the Battle of the Somme [1916] and things like this. There were photographers there who were there to document that kind of history and that’s all we’ve got.

And the presenters were trying to recall memories from soldiers, and they had all the letters that the soldiers had written. And these have become historical artefacts and that that’s culture.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: That’s artistic expression.

M: That’s our story.

P: Yeah, and they do last. And those letters are now being used to relay how personally it felt for that soldier being in the trench. And they weren’t just from Australians. They had some of the German ones as well. Giving a perspective of the battle, from their perspective of the bringers of death they were fighting in the, in the forests. It was really gripping stuff and quite emotional. But it’s really valuable. So, I think that investment in writing and writers and so forth supporting our authors, supporting our playwrights so important as a record.

M: And our photojournalists.

P: Yeah, definitely.

M: And everyone today can be a photojournalist.

P: Very true, very true.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: And you know that’s the positive use of social media is documenting that, even if it’s only for your own personal reflection.

M: Your reflection, your gratitude. So, again we mentioned before looking back on positive moments can be really valuable.

P: Yeah.

M: Yeah.

P: So, one more data, before we leave which I really liked about this, that the direct social engagement in Melbourne and Sydney as a result of arts programs, and this was from a social data analyst called Neighbourlytics. I like that word.

So, they said that in Melbourne the engagement increased by 42% and by a massive 100% in Sydney. People posting photos of their own art when they couldn’t take selfies and they couldn’t go to galleries and all that sort of stuff that’s amazing. 100% in Sydney!

M: And that was engagement during lockdown. So how did we move our, when we weren’t able to go physically into a building? How do we move our consumption of art online and engage with everything online? And there are some fabulous virtual tours of big global museums.

P: Yes.

M: Well, maybe not all global. But big museums that you can go on as well. So, you don’t need to be in London, to –

P: No, to enjoy.

M: – see the masterpieces.

P: Mmm, and be moved by them.

M: Yeah.

P: It’s a great advert for the people who don’t think that they partake in culture.

M: Mmm hmm.

P: Some people may need to rethink that.

M: The other thing that we talked about a while ago when we were creating our happiness… boxes. I can’t think of the word we used. Anyway, it was curating, curating an experience based on an emotion and pulling together different forms of art.

P: Oh yeah.

M: A movie or…

P: Yep.

M: So, if you are curating joy for your friends. You might pick a movie and a song and a saying and some art and bring everyone over to experience that.

P: Curate you own happiness gallery.

M: I don’t remember, who knows.

P: Laugh.

M: In one ear and out the other with me.

P: Still laughing. On that note, laugh.

M: I tell everyone what they should do, and then don’t do it myself.

P & M: Laugh.

M: Move on.

P: Bright light.

M: Pretty much, laugh. I do, do some.

P & M: Laugh.

M: All right. Well, we are done for today. So, I have a fabulous week and we will see you next week.

P: Have a cultural week.

M: A cultural week. Enjoy your cultural week. Please do write in, we love to hear from all our listeners. It just brightens our day and makes us happy.

P: It does, it makes a huge difference.

M: And every now and then we might do a call out as well.

P: Laugh.

M: So, thank you to everyone who writes to us and we’ll see you in a week.

P: Have a happy week.

[Happy exit music – background] 

M: Thanks for joining us today if you want to hear more, please remember to subscribe and like this podcast and remember you can find us at www.marieskelton.com, where you can also send in questions or propose a topic. 

P: And if you like our little show, we would absolutely love for you to leave a comment or rating to help us out. 

M: Until next time. 

M & P: Choose happiness. 

[Exit music fadeout] 

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