Thursday, March 6, 9:00am - 5:30pm at the ZMA
A convening on advancing health and wellbeing through the arts, artistic collaborations,
and aesthetic experiences
Health has been defined as ‘a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. The concept of wellbeing and what it means to be healthy remains deeply relevant to our communities in its concerns of shared trauma, grief, and loss confronted universally over the past several years. Poignant— and timely in response to continuing grim realities and profound global struggles— the proposed convening will highlight the potential of museums to serve as accessible, inclusive spaces for care and creativity, and their ability to offer community to diverse populations through the arts, artistic collaborations, and aesthetic experiences.
Residing within the academic research arena of Kennesaw State University, the Zuckerman
Museum of Art is positioned to take a leading role as a catalyst for enacting change
within our internal and external communities by providing programming that supports
all aspects of mental and physical health and wellness through the lens of the artistic
experiences. The ZMA has the potential to serve as a place of transformational change
for the community while supporting and enhancing diverse audiences through service
activities, experiential learning, leadership, and collaboration. This convening offers
a platform to discuss developments in the medical/therapy field and the opportunities
for cross-disciplinary programming between the professional disciplines of health
care and contemporary art museums, artists and designers, and curators envisioning
the future of well-being and recovery, as well as processing personal loss and trauma
through the arts and art museum experiences.
Contemplative and impactful interactions with art, both via temporary exhibitions
and museum collections, and the opportunities of interdisciplinary work between museum
educators, art educators, designers, and medical school partners envisioning meaningful
collaborations will be explored. Thus, this forum solicits acknowledgment of diverse
voices and highlights the role of each stakeholder as audible in order for expressive
content to be relevant and responsive to the populations it serves. This outwardly
facing lens seeks and establishes a collaborative viewing of the museum and its inhabited
landscapes as shared catalysts.
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