Overview
Date: Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. ET
Venue: Eisner & Lubin Auditorium
60 Washington Square South, New York NY
Description: Full-day symposium on “The Art and Science of Social Connection” at NYU Steinhardt, presented in partnership with Art + Health @ NYU and as part of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Healing Arts Week. The Jameel Arts & Health Lab, a collaboration between NYU Steinhardt, Community Jameel, and the World Health Organization (WHO), produces Healing Arts Week.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), social isolation and loneliness has a serious impact on physical and mental health, quality of life, and longevity and has called for holistic efforts to strengthen a culture of social connection. This full-day symposium will feature examples of research and practice that support social connection throughout New York City and beyond. The day will include opening remarks from world-renowned soprano and WHO Arts & Health Ambassador, Renée Fleming, and a keynote speech from Dr. Jeremy Nobel. As the founder of Project UnLonely, Dr. Nobel will unpack our personal and shared experiences of loneliness to discover its roots and to show how we can take steps to find comfort and connection through opportunities for creative expression. His keynote will be followed by a roundtable discussion featuring NEA Chair, Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson and WHO Arts and Health Lead, Christopher Bailey. NYU President Linda Mills will then introduce an interdisciplinary panel to discuss the intersections of art and science in the context of social connection.
Program
Arrival
8:30-9:00 a.m. ET
Registration and Refreshments
Opening
9:00-9:30 a.m. ET
- Jack H. Knott, Gale and Ira Drukier Dean, NYU Steinhardt
- Nisha Sajnani, Associate Professor and Director, Drama Therapy Program; Co-Director, Jameel Arts & Health Lab
- Renée Fleming, WHO Arts & Health Ambassador, world-renowned soprano
Keynote Address
9:30-10:15 a.m. ET
Dr. Jeremy Nobel, M.D., MPH
Author of Project UnLonely: Healing Our Crisis of Disconnection
Dr. Jeremy Nobel, is a primary care physician and founder of the Foundation for Art & Healing. Dr. Nobel is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine, with Master's degrees in Epidemiology and Health Policy from the Harvard School of Public Health. He currently serves on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine and is also on faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Langone. He is also a poet, a photographer, and a teacher—a practitioner of the humanities.
Roundtable Discussion
10:15-11:00 a.m. ET
Arts and Social Connection at Municipal, National and International Level
Chair: Nisha Sajnani, Associate Professor and Director, Drama Therapy Program; Co-Director, Jameel Arts & Health Lab
Participants:
- Maria Rosario Jackson, Chair, National Endowment for the Arts
- Christopher Bailey, Arts & Health Lead, World Health Organization; Co-Director, Jameel Arts & Health Lab
- Jeremy J. Nobel, MD, MPH, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry; Faculty, Harvard Medical School; Founder and President of The Foundation for Art & Healing
- Jill K. Sonke, Director of National Research and Impact, One Nation / One Project; Research Professor, University of Florida College of the Arts
- Larissa Trinder, Assistant Vice President of NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine
- Renée Fleming, WHO Arts & Health Ambassador, world-renowned soprano
Coffee Break
11:00-11:15 a.m. ET
NYU Steinhardt on the Art & Science of Social Connection
11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET
- Linda G. Mills, NYU President
- Jack H. Knott, Gale and Ira Drukier Dean, NYU Steinhardt
Chair: Julia Hotz, Journalist, Author of The Connection Cure
Participants:
- Marygrace Berberian, Clinical Assistant Professor of Art Therapy
- Joe Salvatore, Clinical Professor of Educational Theatre; Vice Chair for Academic Affairs
- Nicole R. Fleetwood, James Weldon Johnson Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication
- Deborah Damast, Clinical Associate Professor and Director, Dance Education Program
- J. Lawrence Aber, Willner Family Professor of Psychology and Public Policy and University Professor
Q & A
Box Lunch
12:30-1:10 p.m. ET
The Neuroscience of the Arts and Social Connection
1:10-1:55 p.m. ET
Participants:
- Constantina Theofanopoulou, Herbert and Nell Singer Research Assistant Professor, Rockefeller University, Visiting Scholar, The Center for Ballet and the Arts, NYU Tisch
Music and Well-being
2:00-2:55 p.m. ET
Chair: Carlos Chirinos-Espin, Assistant Professor, Director of NYU Music and Social Change Lab
Participants:
- Ian Koebner, Strategic Advisor, Health & Wellness, Carnegie Hall
- Kenneth Aigen, Professor, Director of Music Therapy; Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs
- Alisha Ali, Associate Professor of Applied Psychology
- Ana Flavia Zuim, Music Associate Professor of Vocal Performance
- Adriana Diaz-Donoso, Music Assistant Professor, Director of Music Education
- Morwaread Farbood, Associate Professor, Associate Director of Music Technology
Q & A
Closing Remarks
2:55-3:00 p.m. ET
Nisha Sajnani, Associate Professor and Director, Drama Therapy Program; Co-Director, Jameel Arts & Health Lab