This book brings together a leading team of international experts in arts and global development to showcase effective practice and to explore how this vibrant interdisciplinary field has developed and what the latest research can teach us.

Although arts play a central role in human development, and in the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities, few have attempted to comprehensively explore arts practice as global development. This Handbook first provides a theoretical framework for exploring arts and global development, before surveying a comprehensive range of art forms and development practices to explore the potential of the arts to strategically and beneficially contribute to more just and equitable conditions for communities across the globe. Stretching across the arts from theatre, dance, and music to poetry, film, and visual arts, the book covers topics as diverse as health, education, peacebuilding, livelihoods, sustainability, activism, and arts as research method in programming. The Handbook also identifies gaps in the literature, pointing towards the most pressing and promising avenues for further research over the next few years.

This book will be an essential resource for any researcher, student, or practitioner wishing to understand the role of the arts in global development and in the global south more generally.