Are we getting enough Vitamin-Art in our diets?

In our Q&A with Amanda Palmer we discussed how people feel more beautiful when surrounded by beautiful things. And that in itself is a beautiful thing, right?

So, the question then follows: “Do we actually take in beauty and support the creation of new and more beautiful things?” Ipsos, working with the non-profit Americans for the Arts, has fielded two large, national surveys on the topic. The answers turn out to be “somewhat” and “yes.”

About half of Americans actively take part in some form of artistic creation themselves, be that painting, photography, dancing, writing or even quilting and sewing. Far fewer have sought out art or cultural experiences like museums, concerts and zoos. Yet large majorities feel that the arts help them understand cultures better and unify people and have a positive effect on health and well-being. Three in four say that arts give them “pure pleasure.”

Not surprisingly, people also approve overwhelm­ingly of government funding for the arts.

Given this research, there seems to be a self-care angle to the arts that perhaps we’re not accounting for in our daily lives. We appreciate the arts, and they make us feel a variety of positive things, but we don’t take part in them often enough.

All of this seems to tee up an opportunity for brands, marketers, retailers and e-tailers. If you’re selling products to enhance beauty, incorporating art or music or even plants—objects of beauty—could help customers feel more beautiful (or even simply happier!) as they’re testing your products. Perhaps surrounding customers with photos of beautiful models has the opposite impact. The trick, of course, will come in understanding what “beauty” might look like for your particular clientele or segment.

As they say, it’s in the eye of the beholder.

This article was originally published in What the Future, an award-winning deep dive into different aspects of consumer thought and behavior. Each quarterly edition features exclusive new data from world-leading research firm Ipsos. WTF explores how the opinions of today impact the trends of tomorrow.