Hi all,

The image above is by community engaged artist Rebecca Schwarz. “I am inspired by patterns in nature, and the ways we are creating, even when we think we are not,” she writes. “What humanity ‘consumes’ is creative, even if we don’t like the results. We are consumers of plastics. Bits are turning up in bloodstreams, lungs, placentas. What can appear beautiful and intriguing can be sickening and dangerous. Time to recreate.” Below, you can read more about Rebecca and her work, including information about the Arts in Health program she runs, Art from the Heart, based in Vermont.

News 📰

🎭 Editors of American Theater spotlight Riskier Business, a free online guide to help theatre and performing arts workers navigate health insurance, understand recent policy changes, and access affordable care. The updated resource explains coverage options—including ACA plans, Medicaid programs, COBRA, and discount services—and highlights support such as counseling from the Entertainment Community Fund and emergency grants from the Dramatists Guild Foundation. Aimed at professionals without employer or union benefits, the guide offers clear, practical advice to help performing artists make informed decisions amid shifting federal and state policies.

🎶 Dallas County gig and freelance creatives can now access Creatives Care Dallas, a $65-per-month health and wellness program offering virtual primary care, 24/7 urgent care, no-copay prescriptions, and discounts on dental, vision, and medical services. North Texas NPR affiliate Kera News reports that the program launched through a partnership between the Dallas Music Office and Arete Health Shield. The program is not full insurance but provides affordable support and referrals for specialized care, with members allowed to add up to four additional county residents.

🎶 The Washington Post reports on a large Australian study of more than 10,000 adults aged 70 and older found that those who listened to music most days had a 39% lower risk of developing dementia compared with less frequent listeners. Participants who regularly engaged with music also showed slower cognitive decline and better performance on memory and global cognitive tests, though the findings are observational and cannot prove causation. Researchers suggest the benefits may stem from music’s ability to activate multiple brain regions involved in emotion, movement, sensory processing, and imagination, supporting overall brain health.

💃 A National Geographic article on a study indicating that dancing with others can reduce symptoms of depression. Unlike activities such as walking or yoga, dance activates the brain through a distinctive blend of movement, joy, social connection, and creative expression. This “neurochemical symphony” may explain why dance often outperforms other interventions and remains an accessible, human-centered approach to emotional healing.

📊 This NPR report spotlights a new national study offers one of the clearest pictures yet of the financial and personal realities facing working artists in the United States. After surveying more than 2,600 artists, researchers found that many worry about paying for essentials like housing, food, and medical care, often juggle multiple jobs, and in some cases depend on public assistance. The results reveal a troubling mismatch: while the arts provide proven economic, social, and emotional benefits, the infrastructure supporting artists themselves remains unstable and insufficient.

🎶 PBS NewsHour reports on a music therapy program in Boston that is helping elders process trauma, foster connection, and improve their well-being through familiar songs from their earlier years. According to Ming Yuan Low, a music therapist and professor at Berklee College of Music, music offers a pathway to conversations and emotions that participants might otherwise avoid, lowering defenses and making it easier to share personal experiences.

🖼️ The Washington Post covers a new study, published in October in Nature Communications, that suggests creative activities like dancing, making music, creating art, and even playing certain video games may help slow brain aging. Researchers found that people who regularly engage in these activities—especially those with higher skill levels, such as expert tango dancers—had brains that appeared younger than their actual age. Even beginners benefited, showing that learning a creative skill can positively affect the brain, supporting previous research linking the arts to healthier aging.

Research 🔬

📚 This book, Narrative Medicine: A Guidebook to Transforming Hearts and Minds, introduces narrative medicine as a practical approach to fostering compassion, reflection, and resilience among healthcare workers, helping to alleviate burnout and improve patient care. It makes the principles and practices of narrative medicine widely accessible through clear explanations and guided exercises suitable for individuals or small groups. Emphasizing diversity and inclusion, it amplifies underrepresented voices and ensures the benefits of narrative medicine reach those most affected by suffering.

💡 “Creative health” is becoming a popular phrase in arts-and-health programs and research, but its meaning isn’t always clear. The author of this article in Arts & Health argues that people in the field need to define “creative” more precisely so everyone understands what it actually involves. Clear, shared language will help professionals identify what parts of creative activities truly improve health—and make it easier to explain and evaluate their impact.

℞ This paper argues that “social prescribing” should be more than handing out referrals to activities—it should be a collaborative process that builds strong relationships and empowers people and communities to shape their own health. The authors say that focusing only on the activities themselves can reinforce power imbalances and overlook how community engagement, culture, and politics influence health. They propose a more personalized, community-driven approach that supports self-determination, strengthens social connections, and addresses the deeper social and political causes of health inequalities.

🎶 A large study (cited in the Washington Post article above) of adults aged 70+ found that regularly listening to music was linked to a much lower risk of developing dementia and cognitive problems—about 39% lower for frequent listeners. Playing an instrument also helped, and people who both listened to and played music had the strongest combined benefits. While the study can’t prove music directly prevents dementia, it suggests that staying engaged with music is an easy, accessible way to help keep the brain healthy as we age.

🏫 This paper discusses the rapid expansion of health humanities programs in the U.S. and Canada over the past 20 years. Educators from these programs agree that, while the field looks different from place to place, strong programs share common priorities: they mix multiple disciplines, encourage self-reflection, connect learning to real-world issues, and aim to transform how students understand health and humanity. The authors write that more research is needed to develop clearer standards and tools to support and evaluate these programs as the field continues to grow.

🎼 A new study found that a group singing program called Breathe Melodies for Mums can help treat postnatal depression in new mothers. Compared with mothers who attended other non-singing baby groups, those who took part in 10 weeks of singing sessions experienced longer-lasting improvements in their depression symptoms—benefits that continued for up to six months. The mothers in the singing group were also more likely to stay involved and said the program felt enjoyable, helpful, and well-suited to their needs.

👥 People with Parkinson’s disease often feel rushed during medical appointments and struggle to share their full story, while doctors feel pressured to move quickly and have less time to listen. A short guided journaling activity called the “55-word story” helped participants clearly express their experiences in a format doctors can easily read. After four weeks, most participants felt better understood, more confident communicating with their doctors, and more connected to others—showing that this simple writing activity can improve well-being and could be useful for people with other chronic illnesses too.

📖 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 🎓

🧬 The Arts Health Research Intensive is a hands-on course that introduces participants to how the arts can support health and well-being, along with the basics of research and evaluation. Through discussions, group activities, and presentations, participants learn about how arts engagement affects the mind and body, and how to design and assess research in this growing field. Running June 8 – 12, 2026, N°17 Conference Venue at St. Columba’s Hospice Care in Edinburgh, UK.

🧪 The Arts in Health Research Primer, held January 26–29, 2026 in Gainesville, FL, is an immersive 3.5-day program developed by the University of Florida’s Center for Arts in Medicine in collaboration with University College London. Designed for beginners and practitioners across the arts, healthcare, and community sectors, the program provides foundational training in research methods, measurement approaches, terminology, and ethical practices. Through hands-on learning and expert instruction, participants gain practical skills to begin applying arts in health research within their professional or academic work.

✍️ Bellevue Literary Review’s 2026 workshop, “Writing Illness onto the Page,” invites patients, medical professionals, writers, and creative thinkers to explore the complexities of health, illness, and healing through fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Participants will engage in small-group workshops with BLR editors, using generative prompts, guided exercises, and discussions on craft, style, and publication, with opportunities to share work in a supportive community. The three-week, live online workshop runs on Thursdays from January 22 to February 5, 2026.

💻 “Access: Arts & Culture for Community Health” is an online education series created by NJPAC and Rutgers University, with support from the Pabst Steinmetz Foundation, to build skills for applying arts and culture to support individual and community well-being. The affordable, accessible courses provide foundational training in arts in health, arts in public health, and program development. This series is designed to help arts, health, and allied practitioners strengthen their practice and deliver effective, intentional arts programming for health promotion.

🏫 Rhodes College offers a one-year Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Health and Society that begins each August and prepares students to understand how social conditions—such as poverty, discrimination, and unequal access to care—shape people’s health. Instead of focusing only on clinical skills, the program teaches students how to recognize bias, advocate for better health policies, and create welcoming, respectful healthcare environments for underserved communities. Guided by values of equity, collaboration, and anti-racism, the $12,500 program combines core courses, electives, and a supportive cohort model to help future healthcare and public health professionals build both practical skills and compassion.

Events 📆

🪶 On January 26, 2026, Professor Daisy Fancourt will join Globe Artistic Director Michelle Terry at Shakespeare’s Globe for a public conversation centered on Fancourt’s new book, Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health. The event, held at 3 p.m., will explore Fancourt’s research demonstrating the arts’ ability to influence brain development, reduce stress and depression, relieve pain, and strengthen resilience against dementia. This discussion highlights the growing recognition of the arts as a critical contributor to health and well-being in contemporary society.

🏫 The annual HHC Conference brings together scholars, practitioners, and students from around the world to advance health humanities research and education at the crossroads of the arts, humanities, and social sciences. It explores how patients, caregivers, and communities experience health, illness, and care within various models of wellness and disease. Running April 8-11, 2026 at Indiana University, Indianapolis.

🆔 The 2026 Creating Space conference in Ottawa will explore how personal, professional, and cultural identities shape health and well-being. Centered on the theme of “Identity,” the event aims to foster empathy, cultural understanding, and positive change in healthcare through shared stories and creative expression. Running April 19-21, 2026 in Ottawa, Ontario.

🎶 Creative Care: An Opera for Life and Wellness is a free Zoom series that helps participants recharge through the healing power of the arts. Each session draws inspiration from LA Opera’s upcoming productions and special themes, combining mindfulness, creative expression, learning, and self-reflection.

✍️ This two-day interdisciplinary conference (1–2 June 2026) at Aarhus University explores how illness narratives are evolving in response to new technologies, chronic and anticipatory health conditions, and shifting cultural discourses. Building on and challenging the traditional “crisis model,” it examines how stories of illness are now crafted, shared, and circulated across social media, public platforms, and family or collective contexts. Open to scholars across medical humanities, health communication, and related fields, the event will be held at the Aarhus University Conference Center in Aarhus, Denmark, with registration opening in February 2026.

📍 The International Society for Arts & Medicine (ISfAM) will host its 2026 congress, “The Healing Arts – Forging Alliances of Arts & Medicine,” in Berlin and online from June 18–20, 2026. The event will unite medical professionals, artists, researchers, practitioners, and students worldwide to exchange ideas and collaborate across disciplines at the intersection of art, medicine, and health. The congress aims to inspire innovation, foster sustainable impact, and build lasting global partnerships.

💥 The Graphic Medicine International Collective will hold its annual conference, “Drawing Perspectives: Health Graphic Narratives Under Pressure,” at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, July 23–25, 2026. The event will explore how comics illuminate diverse perspectives on health, illness, disability, and social medicine, particularly under pressures such as chronic illness, systemic inequities, and shifting healthcare structures. Proposals for presentations, panels, and workshops are due January 11, 2026.

Opportunities 🌱

🧠 Northeastern University is hiring a new Assistant Professor in Music, AI, and Brain Health, with applications reviewed starting December 15, 2025. The university is looking for someone who blends music, brain science, and artificial intelligence to study how technology can improve brain health and personalize music-based therapies. The person hired will also teach courses on topics like music and the mind, AI and creativity, and music therapy, and help shape new programs in sound and health across multiple campuses.

🏛️ The International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab) at Johns Hopkins University is hiring a Neuroarts Research Lead to guide interdisciplinary research on how the arts shape brain function, cognition, behavior, and overall well-being. The role includes leading studies within the Intentional Spaces Initiative to strengthen collaboration among scientists, technologists, social scientists, and design practitioners. Responsibilities span conducting neuroaesthetics research, advancing current projects, developing new research ideas, and producing publications and presentations for diverse audiences. The application deadline is January 5, 2026.

⚕️ Stanford Health Care is hiring a Creative & Healing Arts Program Coordinator to help enhance patient care through live music and support the integration of arts programs across the department. The role requires strong skills in leadership, communication, scheduling, event management, and financial coordination while collaborating with patients, clinicians, musicians, and internal and external partners. Working independently and across multiple Stanford entities, the coordinator will manage logistics, support new and ongoing programs, and contribute to a calming, healing environment for patients and families.

℞ Art Pharmacy is expanding nationwide and hiring six new team members to help advance social prescribing in the U.S. by connecting people to arts, culture, and community as part of healthcare. The organization seeks creative, compassionate, and impact-driven professionals to join its growing team. Open roles include Director of Payer Strategy & Engagement, Program Manager, and Research Associate.

🏫 The University of Florida’s Center for Arts in Medicine is seeking an Assistant Professor to teach and mentor students, conduct externally funded research, and contribute to the Center and broader Arts in Health field. Candidates may specialize in areas such as arts in health, arts in public health, medical and health humanities, or arts, health, and AI. Apply by January 10, 2026.

℞ The National Creative Forces® Community Engagement grant program supports arts initiatives that improve health, well-being, resilience, and social connection for military-connected individuals who have experienced trauma. Administered by the NEA in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance, the program funds one-year Emerging ($10K) and Advanced ($25K) projects starting July 1, 2026. Applications are open now and due by Thursday, January 15, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. CT.

📺 Applications are open for New Generation Thinkers 2026, a flagship project from AHRC and BBC Radio 4 that supports early-career researchers with a passion for sharing ideas with the public. Five selected researchers will collaborate with BBC program makers, appear on air, and learn how ideas move from research to broadcast. Participants will also receive AHRC training in media engagement, public communication, and working with policymakers, and must be based at an eligible UK research institution. Apply by January 28, 2026 4:00pm UK time.

🧠 The Renée Fleming Foundation and the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative are now accepting applications for the third year of the Renée Fleming Neuroarts Investigator Awards, which support collaborative research teams of early-career scientists and arts practitioners in the emerging field of neuroarts. Grants of up to $25,000 will fund 12–18 month projects that investigate how the arts affect the brain and body, with the goal of advancing the integration of the arts into mainstream medicine and public health. A technical assistance webinar will be held on December 18, 2025, proposals are due February 3, 2026, and award recipients will be announced on April 15, 2026.

✍️ A new special issue of the journal Humanities invites papers exploring how European literature is responding to today’s major health challenges, including mental health struggles, climate anxiety, migration, distrust in science, and the impact of technology. The editors are interested in how reading and writing can help us better understand these issues and even support solutions, especially in areas such as empathy in healthcare, stigma, reproductive health, and pandemics. Submissions are due by June 1, 2026, and accepted articles will be published online after peer review.

Resources 🧰

🏫 MedHum.org is a new nonprofit collaborative dedicated to exploring the intersections of medicine, the arts, and the humanities through essays, reviews, and other media that foster empathy and critical thinking. Building on the legacy of NYU’s Literature, Arts and Medicine Database, the platform features both newly commissioned work and select archival content from former editors and contributors. Open to writers, healthcare professionals, students, and the public, MedHum provides a curated forum for diverse perspectives on health, illness, culture, and the human condition.

Featured Artists 🎨

Rebecca Schwarz is a community-engaged artist working to foster creativity and connectedness between people of many ages and abilities. Patterns in nature and goals of increasing health—from the personal, to community, to environmental levels—inspires work in a range of modes: sculpture, collaborations, and communication. Rebecca runs Art from the Heart, a volunteer program of Burlington City Arts at the University of Vermont Medical Center and Children’s Hospital that helps patients, families, caregivers, and hospital employees support their care and feel better through the arts—helping us all feel more comforted, connected, and creative.