Reading for pleasure rates are shockingly low in young people. So we should all get behind a new drive to turn them into avid readers. Why not start with books about art?

A girl on the cusp of adolescence gazes down at a book. Her left hand rests against her flushed pink cheeks, while her right clutches the pages, ready to turn to find out what happens next. She has porcelain-like skin and golden hair seemingly full of air, executed in textures that contrast with the scratchy, loose marks that make up her shirt and the book’s pages. When I look at this drawing, I am struck by how the artist, the American-born impressionist Mary Cassatt, has perfectly captured the all-consuming sensation of being submerged in a book – the feeling that the whole world is dissolving around you. For a moment, only that story matters.

Cassatt, who worked in Paris for most of her adult life when women were finally beginning to be accepted as artists (and deserving of state-funded art education), was hailed for her intimate portrayals of women and children. They are glimpses into their minds, their private worlds, yet they also emphasise intellect and ambition. Young Girl Reading is one such example. I often wonder if she is reading something like Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, published nearly three decades before, which tells the story of the four March sisters, who are figuring out their journey to womanhood themselves.

‘I have outtakes of them all standing up – there’s no safety equipment and they’re not hanging on to anything. They just said to me, “Hurry up, Beez!”’

At the age of 12 I was working for the Clash, handing out flyers. I looked older than I was and got to see all the punk bands before getting into reggae sound systems. Multicultural Bristol was a great place to grow up, and by the time I was 14 or 15 I’d be going out late most nights and coming home mid-morning.

Having failed the entrance exam to be a gas fitter, I enrolled on an audio-visual course – one of Thatcher’s new National Training Initiatives. I specialised in photography and started documenting all those nights out – my friends and the scenes I was already part of – offering an insider’s perspective. Photography also gave me an opportunity to explore new environments. If there’s something you’re not sure about, a camera is a good way to have a look at it, be part of it, and then learn from it.

A few of our favourite photographs taken by women from the global south and capturing moments of everyday life and art

Engaging in creativity can reduce depression, improve immunity and delay ageing – all while you’re having fun

For some reason, we have collectively agreed that new year is the time to reinvent ourselves. The problem, for many people, is that we’ve tried all the usual health kicks – running, yoga, meditation, the latest diets – even if we haven’t really enjoyed them, in a bid to improve our minds and bodies. But have any of us given as much thought to creativity? Allow me to suggest that this year be a time to embrace the arts.

Ever since our Paleolithic ancestors began painting caves, carving figurines, dancing and singing, engaging in the arts has been interwoven with health and healing. Look through the early writings of every major medical tradition around the world and you find the arts. What is much newer – and rapidly accelerating over the past two decades – is a blossoming scientific evidence-base identifying and quantifying exactly what the health benefits of the arts are.

The next 12 months promise blockbuster surveys of noted greats and introductions to intriguing lesser-known artists

From old masters to pop artists, contemporary greats and even a major Mexican film-maker, art museums and galleries across the US have some dazzling shows coming up in 2026.