Emerging field focuses on arts-based programming to enhance health and well-being
Arizona has joined 10 regions across the U.S. as part of a new network exploring how the arts can be used to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities.
The Community Neuroarts Coalitions Network is a key building block of the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative, which is helmed by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics and the Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine & Society Program.
Neuroarts is an emerging field that explores how arts and aesthetic experiences change the brain, body, and behavior and how this knowledge can be applied as health care. Think music helping people with memory loss, dance improving movement for those with Parkinson’s disease, and art supporting children’s social and emotional development.
Partners in the Arizona Community NeuroArts Coalition (azneuroarts.org) include the Flinn Foundation, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, Vitalyst Health Foundation and the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
“Big things are achievable when arts, science, and well-being come together,” said Tammy McLeod, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Flinn Foundation, the anchor organization for the Arizona initiative. “We’re excited about a collaboration that can bring greater wellness to Arizonans across the state.”
The NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative is dedicated to building the field of neuroarts and ensuring that it is fully recognized as a translational, research-to-practice discipline. The newly announced network extends the work across the U.S. International community coalitions are expected to come on board in 2026.
Learn more about the Arizona Community NeuroArts Coalition at azneuroarts.org.
Learn more about the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative.