Community Arts Interventions for Newcomer Wellness
Date: March 2, 2026
Author(s): Christen Kong, Mariangela Castro-Arteaga, Hiba Irfan, Andrea Charise, Esther-Joelle Asare
This environmental scan was conducted by FLOURISH: Community-Engaged Arts for Social Wellness Collective (FLOURISH) at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) in collaboration with Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services (Access Alliance) in 2024–2025. This environmental scan explores key features of community arts interventions that support newcomers across Canada, focusing more specifically on mental health and wellness. The findings offer insights and contribute to the growing evidence base on community art interventions as effective approaches for newcomers to live healthier lives and in greater states of social wellness.
Who is the Research About?
Community arts agencies serving newcomer populations across Canada seeking to use arts as a tool for mental health and wellness.
Methodology
The scan reviewed grey literature and publicly available information on websites developed by community organizations providing resettlement services to newcomers. Organizational community arts initiatives were assessed based on four major categories:
- Community arts intervention
- Mental health and wellness
- Newcomer population
- Evaluation strategies
Key Findings
We identified community arts interventions across 41 organizations in Canada primarily community arts organizations, settlement agencies, community centres, art galleries, and museums that focused on improving mental health outcomes for diverse newcomer populations. We discovered the following key findings:
- Cultural tailoring of community arts programs and initiatives is foundational to engaging newcomers.
- Community arts is a growing intervention to support newcomers’ mental health and social wellness.
- Organizations implement accessibility resources and engagement support through enablers.
- Diverse and integrated art modalities strategically engage participants.
- There is limited implementation of evaluation and sustainability frameworks.
Why Does It Matter?
There remains a lack of clarity in defining and characterizing community arts interventions as delivered by organizations serving newcomers. This environmental scan provides insights into the intersection of mental health, newcomer communities, and community arts—ultimately contributing to a more inclusive and holistic vision for the future of mental health care in Canada.
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