Jameel Arts & Health Lab Partners with Lincoln Center on Art and Well-Being Series

The Lab hosted a series of panel discussions about the connection between the arts and well-being.

Lincoln Center exterior — A "Summer for the City" event in the Griffin Sidewalk Studio at David Geffen Hall

This summer, the Jameel Arts & Health Lab (the Lab) partnered with Lincoln Center to lead and curate a series of panel discussions about the connection between the arts, mental health, and well-being.

These conversations were part of Lincoln Center’s robust Summer for the City programming, comprising hundreds of events and thousands of artists between June and August. This year’s theme was “Life, Liberty, and Happiness,” highlighting how active participation in the arts helps strengthen civic bonds and grow strong communities.

“The Lab has partnered with Lincoln Center many times over the past several years, and this series is another great example of how cultural organizations can be partners in public and community health,” says Nisha Sajnani, co-director of the Lab and associate professor and director of the Drama Therapy program at Steinhardt.

Sajnani moderated three conversations over the summer preceding performances by the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center. Each discussion approached the connection between arts and wellness from a different perspective:

The first featured actor Jessica Hecht, sculptor Sophie Kahn, and cellist Ann Kim, who spoke about the role of artists as care workers, as well as artist well-being.
The second featured art therapist Dr. Girija Kaimal, arts and public health researcher Dr. Jill Sonke, and healing arts facilitator Oneika Mays, who spoke about the centrality of the arts and creative expression as a human behavior and the evidence base.
The third featured Lincoln Center Festival Orchestra Conductor Jonathon Heyward, music therapist Dr. Kathleen Howland, NYU Steinhardt Music Adjunct Faculty Jasmine Edwards, and renowned author Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, who spoke about music and mental health with a focus on the music of composer Robert Schumann.

Six panelists sit on stage. — The UNGA Healing Arts Week policy panel

An additional panel discussion was held as part of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Healing Arts Week, a dynamic program of events produced by the Lab that celebrates innovative approaches to global health and well-being through the arts.

“During UNGA Healing Arts Week, we held a policy panel that discussed how we can better translate evidence to opportunities for greater access,” says Sajnani. “If we know that engaging with the arts leads to positive health outcomes, then we need to see access to opportunities to engage with the arts as a health equity issue.”

Panelists included WHO Arts and Health Advocate Renée Fleming; Rick Luftglass, executive director of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund; Eve Byrd, director of mental health programs at the Carter Center; Sunil Iyengar, director of research for the National Endowment for the Arts; and NY Assemblymember Harry B. Bronson, who has championed the expansion of Medicaid to cover the services of Licensed Creative Arts Therapists. The panel was moderated by Christopher Bailey, World Health Organization (WHO) Arts and Health lead.

New legislation in four states may set precedent in moving in exactly the direction that Sajnani and panelists have been advocating for. Medicaid in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Oregon will cover native traditional healing practices including music therapy, sweat lodges, and dancing to help with physical and mental health.

The Jameel Arts & Health Lab was established by NYU Steinhardt, the WHO Regional Office for Europe, Community Jameel, and CULTURUNNERS to facilitate scientific research into the effectiveness of the arts in improving health and well-being. With a focus on overlooked and underserved communities, the Lab leverages scientific evidence, artist-led advocacy, and capacity building to drive the integration of the arts into mainstream healthcare.

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