The influence and role of arts on community well-being

Arts and culture function as indispensable parts of humans’ lives. Numerous studies have examined the impact and value of arts and culture, from individual quality of life to overall community health. However, research has been less focused on identifying the influence of crucial dimensions of arts and culture on overall community well-being, and contributing to understanding the intertwining connection between these elements and community well-being. To explore the dimensions of arts and cultural resources and community well-being, and in turn, to present the relationship between them in a community, this dissertation was based on three subsequent studies. A total of 518 counties were included in the analysis. Specifically, this study is unique in that it sought evidence based on county-level data drawn on the Local Arts Index (LAI) from Americans for the Arts (AFA) and County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHRR) variables to provide an arts-community measurement system suggesting critical and meaningful variables among a wide range of existing data. The results revealed the positive impacts of arts and cultural resources on community well-being. Each arts and cultural domain also has critical relationships with community individual, social, and economic well-being. Specifically, the ‘arts business’ domain was considerably associated with community individual well-being and comprehensive community well-being. The ‘arts consumption’ domain showed synthetically significant associations with community’s individual and economic well-being, and by extension, influenced comprehensive community well-being. Lastly, the ‘arts nonprofits’ domain was related to all the components of community well-being. In conclusion, residents’ arts consumption and the existence of arts and cultural/creative industries, including arts nonprofits, are constantly suggested as key to improving county-level community well-being. This study centers on presenting a more realistic vision of how arts and cultural resources are associated with community well-being components. Recognizing the power of arts and cultural resources in society and bolstering them to promote community well-being is a global issue of the utmost pertinence. Thus, research utilizing a longitudinal data-driven approach is likely to continue measuring the impact of arts and culture, and examining how they are related to and can strengthen community well-being.