In recognition of the vital role of the arts in advancing physical, mental and social health, NYU launches Arts & Health @ NYU, a university-wide initiative that brings together faculty and students from NYU’s global campuses involved in research , the practice and politics that unites the arts and well-being.
The September 20 virtual launch event will feature prominent examples of this interdisciplinary research as part of the Healing Arts New York City, a series of events featuring artists, researchers and policymakers working at the intersection of the arts, health and care. The NYU event is co-produced by CultuRunners in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Museum of Modern Art.
The Arts & Health initiative will allow NYU to expand its already strong research presence in this field and the university’s ongoing work with the World Health Organization (WHO). In September 2020, the WHO commissioned the International Research Alliance, led by the NYU Steinhardt Creative Arts Therapy Consortium, to review the research and generate a series of reports assessing the impact of the arts. and creative arts therapies on a global scale, including visual art, drama, music, dance, poetry, and film.
The International Research Alliance — which includes the University of Melbourne, Drexel University, Edge Hill University, Lesley University, the University of Heidelberg, and the University of Haifa — has so far produced a systematic review of how interventions in creative arts can reduce the symptoms of depression in older adults and a comprehensive review of therapeutic factors in creative arts therapies.
This commission expands the 2019 WHO review of the health benefits of the arts by examining the impact of therapies and creative arts with a stated therapeutic intent on a global scale and recognizes the importance of collaborating with research institutions. who have experience in health. benefits of the arts to inform about global health and culture policy.
The NYU Steinhardt Creative Arts Therapy Consortium will also present the results of the WHO commission’s investigation during a series of events held as part of Healing Arts New York, organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the World Arts Organization and Health Program of the World Health Organization and co-produced by CultuRunners, NYU Steinhardt, Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab, Aspen Institute and the NeuroArts Blueprint, between September 19 and November 14. the psychological well-being of people with Parkinson’s disease, as well as the integration of virtual reality design into physiotherapy can support postural control.
“Emerging science in this area points to a paradigm shift toward the appreciation and expansion of the arts as a global resource for care in all communities,” said Nisha Sajnani, founder of Arts & Health @ NYU, president of the Creative Arts Therapies Consortium, associate professor, director of the dramatic therapy program at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and member of the NYU Abu Dhabi faculty.
The NYU virtual launch event, which is part of the New York Healing Arts program, will include an introduction to Christopher Bailey’s WHO Arts and Health program, as well as presentations by NYU professors and colleagues affiliates involved in the study and practice of how the arts contribute to our physical, cognitive, emotional, social, organizational, environmental, and public health.
The launch of Arts & Health @ NYU will be followed by a first closed meeting of concerted collaborating centers of the WHO Arts & Health programs to be held at the MoMA and a series of talks on advancement in arts research and health in collaboration with WHO and major publishers. The first of this series will be on September 21, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., co-presented by NYU Arts & Health, the WHO Healing Arts Lab and Frontiers. He will focus research published in a special issue of Frontiers in Psychology on the physiological and psychological benefits of the arts, co-edited by a global team that includes members of the Creative Arts Therapies Consortium.
About the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development (@nyusteinhardt)
Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, New York’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development prepares students for careers in arts, education, health, media and psychology. Since its founding in 1890, the mission of the Steinhardt School has been to expand human capacity through public service, global collaboration, research, fellowship, and practice. For more information about NYU Steinhardt, visit steinhardt.nyu.edu.