Hi all,

The image above is of “a pumpkin hat that I make for everyone I know who has a baby,” says Carol Caparosa, founder of Project Knitwell. You can read more about Carol and Project Knitwell below.

Read on for current news, events, and opportunities.

News 📰

℞ Euronews story about how doctors in parts of Europe are experimenting with social prescribing, offering non-medical treatments like nature walks, art classes, and community activities to address social challenges that harm health. A five-year research project across 22 health centers in eight European countries is testing this approach with vulnerable groups, including refugees, isolated older adults, and LGBTQ people.

🖼️ This article highlights a new NYC Health + Hospitals’ Arts in Medicine program’s latest exhibition, WE BELONG HERE at Gotham Health in Bushwick, which brings together historic and newly commissioned works to explore themes of migration, belonging, and collective healing. With a collection of over 7,000 works dating back to the 1930s Federal Art Project, the NYC Health + Hospitals has a long tradition of arts in health while remaining rooted in values of inclusion, care, and community.

🎶 This Next Avenue article highlights the many ways music is being used to support the health of older adults. It looks at music’s impact on dementia care, pain management, and the wider economy.

🥙 NBC News recently featured Community Plate for its Story Sharing Potluck Suppers, which bring people together through food, creativity, and connection. Founded by Karl Schatz and Margaret Hathaway, the project reimagines the community potluck with homemade touches that encourage participants to share stories, recipes, and friendship. As former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy notes, potlucks are powerful tools against loneliness.

℞ KPBS in San Diego reports on San Ysidro Health’s new program in partnership with the Atlanta-based company Art Pharmacy to prescribe arts and cultural activities as part of mental health care. Teens will work with a care navigator to choose from nearly 200 local organizations, including museums, theaters, and dance studios, as a way to support their well-being.

Research 🔬

📚 According to a new study, daily reading for pleasure in the U.S. dropped by more than 40% over the past 20 years. Analyzing data from over 236,000 Americans, researchers found sharp declines across the board. The study highlights the need for better ways to encourage and expand access to reading, especially for groups most affected by these declines. Numerous news organizations -- including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian and CNN -- covered the study.

📖 Nathan Carlin’s “The Secularization of Medicine” explores how religious ideas and practices continue to shape medicine, even as the field is widely seen as secular. He argues that religion has not disappeared but instead migrated into medical culture through what he calls instrumental, idealized, and imaginative transpositions. From rituals like the White Coat Ceremony to the religious names of hospitals, Carlin shows how medicine retains echoes of faith, with important implications for physicians and patients alike.

🖼️ A scoping review of 68 studies found that visual art in healthcare settings benefits patients by lowering heart rates, improving mental health, and providing positive distraction, while staff reported increased well-being and belonging, and visitors exper. These findings highlight the value of integrating visual art into healthcare design to support the health and experience of patients, staff, and visitors alike.

Daisy Fancourt’s new book, “Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives” (out February 3, 2026) is now available for pre-order. In it, the author, an award-winning researcher, reveals how the arts—alongside diet, sleep, exercise, and nature—are a vital but often overlooked pillar of health. Drawing on evidence from neuroimaging, biomarkers, and health records, Fancourt shows how engaging in the arts can boost brain development, protect against disease, reduce stress and pain, and even extend longevity.

Education 🎓

💥 Graphic medicine—comics and graphic novels that explore health, wellness, and disease—can help reduce stigma, address issues like racism and homophobia, and make readers feel seen while introducing important health topics. A webinar presented by the Public Library Association on September 24, 2025, will introduce resources, showcase how libraries are using graphic medicine in their programming, and discuss the effects of censorship on this powerful medium.

🖼️ This course trains healthcare professionals to use Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) in clinical, educational, and organizational settings to enhance observation, communication, and empathy. Participants who complete the course and demonstrate facilitation proficiency can earn VTS@Work® certification. Register by October 8, 2025.

🎓 The University of Florida’s Center for Arts in Medicine offers online graduate programs that prepare students from diverse fields to become credentialed professionals in arts in health. Through a Master’s Degree or Graduate Certificate, students gain expertise in best practices and research to create impact in healthcare, public health, education, and community settings. Deadline for Spring 2026 is November 1, 2025.

🖼️ CA for the Arts 2025 Arts & Health Webinar Series "Bridging Creativity & Care" introduces the growing field of arts and health, showing how creative arts therapists and teaching artists support both individual healing and community well-being. Running through December 10, participants will learn about different settings and methods, from clinical therapy for specific diagnoses to community programs that build connection, resilience, and prevention. Through talks and hands-on activities, the series highlights shared values, key differences, and opportunities to collaborate across healthcare and the arts.

Events 📆

🧬 On Tuesday, September 16 from 4–5:30pm Eastern, a2ru will host Quantifying the Arts in This Moment, the second event in its community conversation series. The discussion will explore the push to measure the arts in terms of return on investment—like audience numbers or salaries—versus the risks of reducing their broader value, with a focus on impacts in higher education.

👥 UNGA Healing Arts Week 2025 will highlight how the arts are advancing health and well-being through performances, panels, and community events. Held alongside the 80th UN General Assembly, it will focus on the role of culture in addressing non-communicable diseases and mental health. Events will be held across all five boroughs of New York City from September 20 – 26, 2025

🌎 The Brazil International Arts & Health Festival is part of the Global South Arts and Health Convening, focusing on Africa, Asia, and Latin America while welcoming global participation. Running September 21-27, 2025, it’s goal is to promote education, research, and interdisciplinary practice in arts in health, art therapy, and community arts. The festival features workshops, performances, exhibitions, and cultural exchanges to foster collaboration and innovation across regions.

✍️ “Crafting a Story of Illness” is a free online event on September 25, 2025, bringing together four best-selling authors whose work bridges literature and healthcare. The panel -- moderated by physician and author Danielle Ofri -- will explore how writing about illness can transform suffering into meaning, foster empathy, and navigate the ethical and creative challenges of telling vulnerable stories. Open to writers, patients, caregivers, and readers, the conversation offers practical guidance and inspiration, with a recording available for those who RSVP but cannot attend live.

🤝 Creating Healthy Communities: Arts in Public Health Convening will take place October 14–16, 2025, in Newark, NJ, presented by the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine and NJPAC. This event brings together artists, healthcare professionals, and community leaders to explore how arts and culture can help shape a healthier future. Topics include emerging themes in public health, community development, and a focused look at arts prescribing in the U.S.

🤖 The Cambridge University Medical Humanities Society, in collaboration with the Association of Medical Humanities, will host a one-day Student and Members Conference on October 18, 2025, at Newnham College, Cambridge. Titled “From Heroes to Robots: Discourses on Medicine’s Identity,” the event will examine how technology, burnout, and institutional pressures are reshaping what it means to be a healer in the 21^st century. Themes include the erosion of the “hero” narrative, the challenges of AI, the crisis of meaning in medical training, and the struggle to balance vocation, labor, and empathy in medicine.

📍 Healing Arts Barcelona is the first regional Healing Arts event in Spain, taking place from October 20–26, 2025, across Barcelona and Catalonia. Led by the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC), the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, and the World Health Organization, it focuses on enhancing physical, mental, and social well-being by integrating the arts into healthcare and public health.

🧬 The a2ru national conference will be held October 23–25, 2025, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, bringing together practitioners and researchers from across higher education to share innovations in arts-integrative work. This year’s theme, Creative Futures: Driving Interdisciplinary Innovation Through the Arts, focuses on how the arts can reshape disciplines, foster collaboration, and address urgent global challenges.

🏛️ Explore the evolving role of museums in supporting individual and community health at NEMO’s European Museum Conference, "Who Cares? Museums, Wellbeing, and Resilience." The event runs October 26–28, 2025 in Horsens, Denmark and brings together museum professionals, cultural practitioners, health experts, and others interested in how museums can foster well-being and resilience.

℞ The Social Connection Conference runs October 28-30 in in Atlanta, GA. The brings together researchers, policymakers, and community leaders committed to fostering connection and well-being and is for those interested in mental health, social prescribing, and community-building.

🖼️ The 9th annual NOAH conference will take place in New York City. Events include pre-conference activities and a kick-off party on November 5, in-person conference sessions on November 6–7 at NYU’s Kimmel Center, and a virtual day on November 19. The conference brings together artists, healthcare professionals, researchers, educators, and others to explore arts in health, share effective practices, and foster collaboration and innovation.

Opportunities 🌱

℞ University College London’s The Research Department of Behavioral Science and Health is hiring a Social Prescriber (or equivalent) to support two national studies. The role, based in the Social Biobehavioral Research Group led by Professor Daisy Fancourt, involves working directly with young people to connect them with social prescribing activities while contributing to research. Apply by September 12, 2025.

🏫 Baylor University’s Medical Humanities Program invites applications for a clinical professor position at the assistant or associate level, starting August 2026. The role centers on excellent teaching, with opportunities for clinical or scholarly contributions, and the program especially seeks candidates with expertise in end-of-life issues, hospice and palliative care, and spiritual care. Founded in 2004, the program offers one of the first undergraduate degrees in medical humanities, emphasizing Christian spirituality, patient-practitioner relationships, and experiential learning within the Waco medical community. Application deadline is September 15, 2025.

👥 The Foundation for Social Connection is hiring an Associate Program Manager for Community Initiatives and a Program Manager for our Research and Practice pillar. The full job descriptions are available on the organization’s website.

🏥 Houston Methodist’s Center for Performing Arts Medicine (CPAM) is hiring a Project Specialist – Public Programming. The role involves administrative coordination, including budget management, artist communication, scheduling, and overseeing the CPAM Television Channel, all in alignment with hospital and program goals. Ideal candidates will have a strong background in music and arts programming, digital media experience, and a passion for integrating the arts into healthcare settings.

🏫 Haverford College invites applications for a tenured Associate Professor to serve as Director of Health Studies, with expertise in the health humanities or critical social sciences of health. Candidates should demonstrate interdisciplinary scholarship, a commitment to critical inquiry, and experience mentoring diverse students, while being able to teach both introductory and advanced courses in health studies. The successful applicant will also bring administrative experience to help grow the program; applications are due October 27.

🏫 Rice University’s School of Humanities invites applications for a tenure-track assistant or associate professor in Medical Humanities, with a focus on narrative and/or digital humanities approaches to medicine and health in the 20th–21st centuries. Desired expertise includes data, technology, and computational approaches to health narratives, with strong preference for scholars who engage with health equity, social justice, and marginalized communities. The position involves a joint role in Medical Humanities and a home department, with opportunities to collaborate through the new Medical Humanities Research Institute and the Texas Medical Center. Submit applications by October 31, 20255

🖼️ The Visual Arts in Healthcare Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (VAH@BWH) is accepting proposals for Bridging Visual Arts & Healthcare: Impact, Innovation, Research an international symposium to be held in Boston September 23-25, 2026. VAH@BWH invites proposals from healthcare professionals, art educators, scholars, researchers, and trainees, with a focus on advancing learning in healthcare through the effective use of visual arts to strengthen skills, collaboration, and patient outcomes. Submit proposals by September 15, 2025.

🧶 Project Knitwell, a Washington DC–based nonprofit that uses knitting as a wellness practice seeks a research partner to study how knitting can help elementary students manage stress. The proposed 8-week study with Fairfax County Public Schools would involve 30 students in grades 4–6 at Riverside Elementary, measuring changes in stress levels before and after the knitting program. Interested? Email lkeogh@knitwell.org.

℞ Frontiers in Public Health is inviting article submissions for a new research collection, “Social Prescribing: Advancing Evidence-Based Public Health Policies.” The collection seeks to explore how social prescribing can strengthen healthcare systems, improve health outcomes, and inform global policy. Submissions due December 6, 2025.

Resources 🧰

🧬 The Social Biobehavioral Research Group at University College London, a WHO Collaborating Centre, studies how social connections and behaviors shape health. Their cross-disciplinary research examines both positive influences—like relationships, arts, leisure, nature, and social prescribing—and negative factors such as loneliness, isolation, and restrictions. By uncovering mechanisms and societal variations, their work informs policies and practices to improve population health. Sign up for their quarterly newsletter here.

Featured Artist 🎨

Project Knitwell was founded in 2010 by Carol Caparosa, who discovered the calming and restorative benefits of knitting while her daughter underwent multiple heart surgeries as a child. Guided by values of inclusion, compassion, and equity, Project Knitwell partners with health and human service organizations to use knitting as a tool for wellness, resilience, and community for people facing illness, trauma, and other challenges. What began as Carol teaching knitting to other parents in the pediatric unit has grown into a nonprofit recognized as a leader in therapeutic knitting. A future goal for Project Knitwell includes being part of more research efforts and providing more resources to those outside the metro Washington DC area.