Jameel Arts & Health Lab Co-Hosts Caucus before White House Event

The Arts & Health Pre-Summit Caucus on January 29 preceded “Healing, Bridging, Thriving: A Summit on Arts and Culture in our Communities.”

A photo of 19 people at the Summit Caucus, standing, kneeling, and sitting, all smiling at the camera

On January 29, the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, established as a collaboration between NYU Steinhardt, Culturunners, Community Jameel, and the World Health Organization, co-hosted an Arts & Health Pre-Summit Caucus at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The event was a precursor to the “Healing, Bridging, Thriving: A Summit on Arts and Culture in our Communities” conference on January 30, which was hosted by the NEA and the White House Domestic Policy Council.

The Pre-Summit Caucus and the daylong arts and culture conference followed an executive order made by President Joe Biden stating that the arts are “essential to the well-being, health, vitality, and democracy of our Nation.” The summit introduced a Presidential interagency task force to effectively integrate arts across ten federal departments and agencies.

“Under my Administration, the arts, the humanities, and museum and library services will be integrated into strategies, policies, and programs that advance the economic development, well-being, and resilience of all communities, especially those that have historically been underserved,” states the executive order from September 30, 2022. “[...] We will enhance access to high-quality arts and humanities education and programming with the aim of enabling every child in America to obtain the broad creative skills and enrichment vital to succeed.”

This historic event affirmed the value of artists in every aspect of society and the importance of inspiration, imagination, and creative expression in our everyday lives, in our schools, and other spaces of care.

Nisha Sajnani, Associate Professor and Director, Drama Therapy Program; Co-Director, Jameel Arts & Health Lab

“This unprecedented national summit brought together leaders from across the arts, health, labor, education, and environmental protection, to share strategies to realize the full potential of the arts to cultivate dignity, hope, critical thinking, and connection,”says Nisha Sajnani, co-founding co-director of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab and associate professor and director of the Drama Therapy program at NYU Steinhardt. “This historic event affirmed the value of artists in every aspect of society and the importance of inspiration, imagination, and creative expression in our everyday lives, in our schools, and other spaces of care.”

The Arts & Health Pre-Summit Caucus was co-hosted by Sajnani together with Lisa Wong, MD (Arts and Humanities Initiative, Harvard Medical School), and Dr. Jill Sonke (Center for the Arts in Medicine, University of Florida).

The caucus brought together federal representatives from the Office of the Surgeon General, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Health and Human Services, and more with leaders in the arts and health throughout the U.S. The event focused on opportunities to fully integrate the arts and creative arts therapies in mainstream medicine and public health.

“Universities have a vital role to play in creating opportunities for the arts and humanities to be integrated across disciplines and in championing research that can advance our understanding of the health benefits of the arts,” says Sajnani. “NYU Steinhardt is leading the way by offering innovative programs that unite the arts and human development in education, mental health, and rehabilitation sciences.”

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