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Table 3 Summary of themes for how arts engagement is perceived to facilitate feelings of social connectedness

From: Arts engagement supports social connectedness in adulthood: findings from the HEartS Survey

Themes and (sub)sub-themes

Description

1. Facilitating social opportunities

The arts facilitate social opportunities

1.1 Meeting new people

The arts provide opportunities to meet new people and to make new friends

1.2 Socialising and interacting with others

The arts encourage and facilitate generalised social interactions

 1.2.1 Conversing about art

The arts can act as a catalyst for conversations

 1.2.2 Negating pressures of social interaction

The arts facilitate interaction and connection without pressures of social situations

2. Facilitating sharing

The arts facilitate opportunities for shared experiences

2.1 Sharing experiences

The arts act as a shared experience creating bonds between those involved

 2.1.1 Sharing emotions

The arts allow people to share emotional responses and to express feelings

 2.1.2 Sharing art with others

When artists share their art, it creates a sense of connection between them and their audience

2.2 Shared purpose

The arts provide people with a sense of shared purpose

3. Facilitating commonality and belonging

The arts facilitate feelings of similarity and belonging

3.1 Being part of something

The arts allow people to feel part of, and belonging to, something bigger than themselves

 3.1.1 Enabling proximity to others

The arts elicit feelings of direct and indirect proximity with other people and times

3.2 Connecting through common interests

The arts connect people with common interests, specific to the arts activity

3.3 Connecting with likeminded people

The arts connect people with common tastes and opinions, regardless of the arts activity itself

4. Facilitating collective understanding

The arts facilitate learning from and about other people

4.1 Learning from and with others

The arts allow people to learn new skills and knowledge from and with others

4.2 Relating to others

The arts allow people to relate to others

4.3 Learning about others

The arts provide a means of learning about other people, places, and times

4.4 Connecting with different people and cultures

The arts expose people to different cultures and bring together people from different backgrounds

4.5 Connecting with different viewpoints

The arts expose people to different viewpoints and opinions