Holyoke Art Partners with Art Pharmacy to Provide Mental Health Support
HOLYOKE — Holyoke Art has officially joined Art Pharmacy, a groundbreaking arts and healthcare initiative designed to improve mental health and emotional well-being through non-clinical, creative experiences. As a new regional provider in this statewide network, Holyoke Art will offer referred patients joyful, expressive sessions like paint flinging in the Splatery and guided art classes, all at no cost to participants.
Art Pharmacy, launched in Georgia in 2022 and now expanded to Massachusetts through a partnership with the Massachusetts Cultural Council and Mass General Brigham, allows healthcare professionals to prescribe up to 12 creative experiences per year to patients experiencing anxiety, depression, loneliness, or chronic stress. Participants are supported by a trained care navigator who helps tailor their experiences and tracks progress using tools like the PHQ-9 and WHO Well-being Index.
At Holyoke Art, that prescription may look like an unstructured session of color chaos in the Splatery, a space where participants throw paint at canvases, walls, and each other, or a welcoming art class designed to foster connection, confidence, and play.
“There’s something deeply healing about giving people permission to make a mess,” said Kathy McKean, executive director of Holyoke Art. “We’ve seen how messy play reduces stress, lowers inhibitions, and builds community. Through Art Pharmacy, we’re reaching people who may never have walked into an art space, but who need it most.”
Recent blog posts published by Holyoke Art explore the scientific and psychological benefits of messy play, highlighting how sensory engagement and unstructured creativity can improve cognitive function, reduce anxiety, and activate healing brain pathways. The Splatery, in particular, offers what researchers call ‘bottom-up processing,’ which restores emotional balance by engaging the body before the intellect.
“Art has always been a tool for survival,” McKean said. “This partnership makes it a formal part of the care plan.”
Patients are referred by a healthcare provider, social worker, or mental health counselor. A care navigator follows up to ensure consistency, accessibility, and trackable outcomes. There’s no cost to the participant. Holyoke Art will begin hosting referred sessions this summer. Interested providers or organizations can contact Art Pharmacy at hello@artpharmacy.co to learn how to participate.