Contributor(s): Lizz Brady, James Leadbitter, David McDaid, Vivienne Parry | “Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life” (Picasso) but how far can the arts improve health and wellbeing? Alongside advances in medicine and care, there is an increasing evidence base that the arts can significantly improve health and wellbeing as well as preventing illness. In addition to benefits to individuals, the arts can also improve the environments in which care is provided and the wellbeing of staff and unpaid carers providing that care. This event will explore our current understanding on how engagement with the arts can increase wellbeing, with individual talks from those involved in science, art and health research and open discussion. Lizz Brady, a visual artist and curator based in Manchester, is the founder of Broken Grey Wires, a contemporary art organisation responding to and exploring mental health, philosophy, and psychology. James Leadbitter is the vacuum cleaner (@vacuumcleaner), an art and activism collective of one. Working across form: including performance,installation and film, the vacuum cleaner addresses challenging and taboo issues such as consumerism and mental health. David McDaid (@dmcdaid) is an Associate Professorial Research Fellow in Health Policy and Health Economics at the Personal Social Services Research Unit at LSE. He is involved in a wide range of work on mental health and public health in the UK, Europe and at the global level. A scientist by training, Vivienne Parry (@vivienneparry) hosts medical programmes for Radio 4, writes widely on health, presents films, facilitates many high level conferences and debates and trains young researchers. Martin Knapp is Director of PSSRU and Professor of Social Policy at LSE, and Director of the NIHR School for Social Care Research. The Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) (@PSSRU_LSE) is part of LSE Health and Social Care, which is located within the Department of Social Policy. LSE has established a reputation for depth, breadth and excellence in British social science, with a long history of policy impact.