For Dr. André-François Arcier, the health of artists was first a subject of memory before he made it a lifelong project by creating the association Médecine des arts. He tells us about the Artists’ Health Week organized from May 22 to 28. A round table around the voice will notably take place on May 26 at the conservatory of Montauban.
Little known in the Montalban area, the Medicine of the Arts association is at the service of health and artistic well-being. It supports and advises artists, promotes prevention of occupational risks. In-depth work on the health of artists is also carried out through precise studies on the body of a musician.
“I devote myself fully to this adventure that we have lived for 35 years with my wife… It is an exciting adventure for a doctor”, confides doctor André Arcier, founder of the association Medicine of the arts. “At the time, there was nothing about the health of artists. I did my thesis on painting and the problems associated with it and then I did a course in occupational health where I wrote a dissertation on the health of artists. In the early 1980s, I started collecting information. Ten years later, we discovered many pathologies that artists develop. »
A study on the life expectancy of musicians, led by the association Médecine des arts shows a colossal difference. On a sample of 12,000 current artists, the life expectancy of musicians is around 55 years against 75 years for the general population.
Now a benchmark in the artist community, this association has continued to evolve. A training institute was established in 1996 where more than 600 people have been trained in the care of musicians and music teachers so that they can integrate physiology into practice. Médecine des arts en scène, a branch of the Médecine des arts association, provides free physiotherapists to festivals to come and support artists. “We have a national and international network of trained people, with physiotherapists, ergonomists, psychologists, occupational therapists. There are very diverse trades,” explains Dr. Arcier.
A study on the life expectancy of musicians, led by the association Médecine des arts shows a colossal difference. On a sample of 12,000 current artists, the life expectancy of musicians is around 55 years against 75 years for the general population. Dr. Arcier is sounding the alarm and fighting for better institutions to support these artists.
“A lot of people would like to take care of artists but don’t have the skills. We could have better support for artists with structures that help more. There are occupational diseases that are not recognized. A musician can start at 6 years old certain instruments and it will last until 70 years. He is not a rugby player who, at 35-40, puts away his crampons. There, you have to last a long time with very technical and rapid movements that require a lot of energy, ”says the doctor.
“It’s the project of a lifetime”
The association organizes Artists’ Health Week, from May 22 to 28.
A round table will be organized at the conservatory of Montauban, on Friday May 26, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., with the founder of the association who will be accompanied by a rheumatologist from the hospital and a speech therapist.
“During this week, we organize multisite, multiform (conference, workshop, musical show) and multidisciplinary events. The objective is to develop prevention in artistic practices and to raise awareness about the health of artists (amateurs, professionals, students, etc.) and their environment, particularly in schools, universities and institutions and among health professionals. »
Fully committed to “the project of a lifetime”, Dr. Arcier knows that there is still a lot to do. “75% of musicians will experience health issues in their lifetime. We have to take care of them properly.”