On Oct. 7, the inaugural Healing Arts Atlanta activation will convene public health advocates, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and artists. The weeklong series of performances, workshops, exhibitions, and research presentations, will kick off at the Woodruff Arts Center—home to the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art.
“The impact of the arts has never been more important than it is now,” said Hala Moddelmog, President and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center. “The challenge young people are facing against mental health is so great, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a warning in 2021 and another last year urging us to turn our attention to this growing epidemic and recognize the role we play in supporting youth. That is why an initiative like Healing Arts Atlanta is so vital to our work at the Woodruff Arts Center and to our community. To have professionals and thought leaders from the health field work alongside us in growing the collective understanding of how arts and health go hand in hand gives me hope for the future.”
Healing Arts Atlanta is a collaborative initiative by Performance Hypothesis and the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, alongside local partners, including:
- Alliance Theatre
- Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
- BLKHLTH
- The Carter Center
- CDC Museum
- Ebenezer Baptist Church
- Emory University
- High Museum of Art
- Morehouse University
- National Center for Civil and Human Rights
- World Health Organization
This year’s theme is “leveraging the arts to heal racial divides and improve community health and wellness” and focuses on advancing health collaborations, art programs, and new Georgia policies to dismantle systemic racism and uplift statewide health equity. Many Healing Arts events are free and open to the public Oct. 7-11.
“The data evidence is here that the arts play an important role in advancing health and well-being, therefore, the time is now to activate the key players in Atlanta who represent many facets of arts and health as a growing field,” said Marcel Foster, Co-Director of Performance Hypothesis.
“Healing Arts Atlanta is already mobilizing the collaboration and bold creativity we need to reckon with the reality of racism and its impacts on physical, mental, and social well-being, and to commit to co-creating a more equitable future,” said Nisha Sajnani, Co-founding Co-Director of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab.
Art Partner Event Highlights:
- Arts and Well-Being Workshops & Museum Stroll (Monday, Oct. 7 from 3 to 7 p.m.) The High Museum of Art invites artists, health professionals, educators, community organizers, and others working at the intersection of arts and health in Atlanta for an afternoon of restoration at the museum. During this private event, you can enjoy access to the museum galleries, including the hallmark exhibition Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, as well as a series of mindfulness exercises that ground us in our bodies and communities and orient us around myriad forms of Black expression and ingenuity. Pre-registration required at high.org/event/healing-arts-atl.
- Healing Arts Atlanta Mindfulness Concert (Monday, Oct. 7 from 7 to 8 p.m.) Performance Hypothesis will host this special call-and-response live event with celebrated author and Black Buddhist Southern Queen Lama Rod Owens and Grammy-winning violinist Melissa White. These two internationally renowned luminaries will facilitate an evening of music, grounding breath-work, and liberatory practices as a unique and rejuvenating arts and mindfulness session. This Well-Being Concert is presented in collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. Limited seats available. Tickets required at high.org/music-and well-being-concert.
For tickets and more information, visit healingartsatlanta.org.
