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| Page Last Updated:
Thursday, 29 October 2009 |
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| Leaping into Arts - Good for individual and community well-being - 29/10/2009 |  Printer Friendly |
| | | | The well-being of residents is being targeted by a ground-breaking arts for health program that will bring the arts to more people in Mildura Rural City.
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| The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) has provided Mildura Rural City Council with $600,000 over three years to implement the ambitious and innovative program Localities Enhancing Arts Participation (LEAP) which will extend arts and cultural activities to new communities and new settings.
VicHealth CEO Todd Harper said evidence shows when community participation in social and arts activity is high, there is reduced crime, increased employment rates and enhanced educational performance.
“Arts participation is linked to social, cultural and economic benefit to local communities,” said Mr Harper.
“There is also strong evidence that mental health and well-being is improved amongst individuals who participate in social networks and activities in the arts like singing, music, dancing or theatre groups,” Mr Harper said.
Mildura Rural City Council’s Acting Mayor Sue Nichols said this exciting project will use the arts as a vehicle for creating supportive communities who have strengthened social connection through participation in the arts.
“Council’s ground-breaking work with Professor Tony Vinson to generate the Mildura Social Indicators Report and the Community Well-Being Survey has demonstrated that we are pro-active about the well-being of our people and our community and has paved the way for us to gain maximum benefit from the LEAP program,” said Cr Nichols.
“From innovative community-based theatre to digital video stories, we will be able to tell some of the many great stories that make up our unique and special part of Australia and allow the whole community to participate both as creators and consumers of the arts,” Cr Nichols said.
Established arts organisations the Old Van Theatre Company, Art Vault and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image will be involved in the project to improve arts participation across the municipality.
Mildura Rural City Council will also work with VicHealth and the School of Population Health at the University of Melbourne on a ground-breaking study to design, record and evaluate, over the three year project, the benefits that participating in the arts have on health.
Mildura is one of three local government areas to have received funding as part of VicHealth’s $2.2 million LEAP program alongside the City of Ballarat and the City of Casey in south east Melbourne.
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