Healing Arts is a global campaign by the Jameel Arts & Health Lab in collaboration with the World Health Organization
Healing Arts is a global campaign by the Jameel Arts & Health Lab in collaboration with the World Health Organization
8 December | 1 - 5PM | 9 December 2025 | 10.45AM - 6PM Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore
The NUS symposium opens the Healing Arts Singapore week with a focus on research, practice, and policy at the intersection of arts, health, and wellbeing. It brings together leaders from research, healthcare, arts and culture, and government to explore how the arts can strengthen wellbeing, reimagine care, and inspire systemic change. Through dialogues, presentations, and workshops, participants will engage with emerging evidence, innovations, and collaborations that link arts participation with healthy ageing, youth mental health, and inclusive communities. The discussions will also spotlight growing efforts to integrate the arts into healthcare and community systems through social prescribing. The NUS symposium culminates with the launch of the THRivE (Tools for Health Research and Evaluation in arts and heritage) toolkit — Asia’s first freely available e-book supporting more rigorous evaluation in arts, heritage and health — followed by a celebratory THRivE reception with live music and canapés.
Welcome Address by HASG co-organisers and Ms. April Siwon Lee (Technical Officer, World Health Organization Western Pacific Region), and others, with keynotes by Ms. Aruna Johnson (Director, Arts Ecosystem Group, NAC), and Dr. Jill Sonke (Research Director & Research Professor, University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine).
Join moderator Dr. Joanne Yoong and panelists Prof. Kua Ee Heok, Prof. Emi Kyota, Ms. Ngiam Su-Lin, and Dr. Sharon Chang as they discuss how Singapore can design, implement and sustain the systems, spaces, and policies needed to embed the arts in healthy ageing. This session bridges research, practice, and policy for a more creative and caring future.
4:00 PM | Breakout Talks: Research in Arts for Healthy Ageing
Explore studies and programmes that link the arts with healthy ageing. Featuring speakers from NUS, NTU, National Gallery Singapore, and other partners, these concurrent sessions showcase innovations in music, dance, theatre, and visual arts that enhance wellbeing, connection, and care.
Celebrating the transformative power of music through an inspiring evening of performances—featuring Chen Zhangyi's LILY, the YST Orchestral Institute, pianist Dr. Azariah Tan, Arts Fission, Beautiful Mind Charity and TENG Ensemble. Blending classical masterpieces with contemporary creations, the programme takes you on a musical journey through themes of resilience and renewal.
Youth mental health is an increasingly pressing issue, and creative arts programmes or interventions can offer engaging and effective ways to support the wellbeing of young people. In a panel session co-hosted with the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), Prof Daniel Fung, Ms. Fontane Liang, Ms. Sandra Cheah and Ms. Jane Goh to discuss how arts-based interventions or programmes can foster mental wellness in youths.
This session will also feature a discussion of the forthcoming World Health Organisation (WHO) Policy Brief on ‘The Role of the Arts in Supporting Youth Mental Health.’ This segment will be presented by two co-directors of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, Dr. Nils Fietje (Technical Officer, WHO Regional Office for Europe) and Dr. Nisha Sajnani (Professor, New York University).
Join The Red Pencil (Singapore) for an experiential art therapy session to discover how creative expression supports emotional well-being. The session includes an introduction to The Red Pencil, an overview of art therapy, stories of how art therapy has helped youths and other communities, and two guided art activities (no art experience needed!) done comfortably at your seat.
The Red Pencil (Singapore) is an Institution of Public Character and a registered
charity founded in Singapore in 2011 with a mission to bring the benefits of creative
arts therapy (drawing, music, movement and dance) to less privileged children, adults
and families who have been through overwhelming and traumatic life circumstances.
The process of creative arts therapy allows our service users to express the
unspeakable, experience release and relief, find new resources inside and outside,
gain self-confidence and new perspectives, and feel empowered to move on towards
a more hopeful and happier life. Visit www.redpencil.sg for more information.
How can the arts become a meaningful part of healthcare? This thought-provoking session brings together leaders from the World Health Organization (WHO), SingHealth, and the arts community to discuss how Arts-on-Prescription programs can transform wellbeing and care delivery.
Join Ms. April Lee, Prof. Kheng Hock Lee, Dr. Michael Tan, Ms. Adeline Kwan Li Feng, Mr. Lim Yuan Kang, and partners as they share insights from research, clinical practice, and creative engagement. Together, they will explore how the arts can be effectively integrated into person-centred models of care, bridging the worlds of art, health, and community.
Discover how arts, heritage, and health programs can be effectively evaluated using evidence-based approaches. The THRivE Toolkit (Tools for Health Research and Evaluation in arts and heritage) is a comprehensive digital resource designed to guide practitioners in measuring the impact of arts and heritage programmes. All attendees will receive complimentary access to the toolkit (in digital format).
This project is supported by the National Heritage Board and Tote Board Singapore, with the preliminary version developed through funding from the National Arts Council.
The day will conclude with a canapé reception and live music — a chance to celebrate, connect, and exchange ideas with others passionate about the intersection of the arts and health.
