Major International Arts and Health Conference

Arts and Health Australia is convening an international arts and health conference, The Art of Good Health and Wellbeing, at the Glasshouse Arts Conference and Entertainment Centre, in Port Macquarie, NSW, from 10 to 13 November 2009, with specialized pre-conference workshops. Read More >>

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conference Program Highlights

Scientific Research and Training

Dr Cheryl Dileo, PhD, MT-BC, Professor of Music Therapy and Director: Arts and Quality of Life Research Center Temple University, Philadelphia, USA, will give a presentation on scientific research in the field of arts and health. Cheryl Dileo has held leadership positions with the National Association of Music Therapy (USA), the World Federation of Music Therapy and is a founding member of the International Association for Music in Medicine. Cheryl Dileo is currently co-authoring 7 Cochrane Reviews concerning the effects of the arts in medicine and will give a keynote presentation on the quantitative analyses and meta-analyses of the effects of music in medicine, in collaboration with Dr Joke Bradt, PhD, Assistant Director, Arts and Quality of Life Research Center.

In addition, Dr Dileo and Dr Bradt will present a 3 day pre-conference training program Artists in Healthcare from 7 to 9 November 2009. This course will provide musicians (limited to 15) and visual artists (limited to 15) with basic information and skills needed to assist in preparing them for work in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The course will be structured to include: lecture, role playing, video examples, demonstrations, and hands-on training in music or visual arts media, along with the development of arts projects suitable for healthcare environments.

Art And Alzheimer Programs at MoMA and the NGA

Carrie McGee, BA, Educator, Community and Access Programs at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, develops programming for audiences with special needs and disabilities, including individuals with Alzheimer's and their carers. At the conference, Carrie will present MoMA’s Art and Alzheimer Education Program and lead a practical workshop on how to establish an Art and Alzheimer's program - a valuable resource for managers of public programs and education in museums and art galleries. Carrie McGee has been a featured speaker at numerous conferences including the Society for the Arts in Healthcare Annual Conference (Chicago 2006), American Association of Medical Colleges Annual Conference (Seattle 2006), National Alzheimer’s Association’s Dementia Care Conference (Chicago 2007) and the Alzheimer’s Association of Israel National Conference (Tel Aviv 2008).  In 2009, Carrie McGee has facilitated Accessability Training for Sharjah Museums Department, Sharjah, United Arab emirates (2009) and presented at Creativity Matters: Health and Wellness Symposium hosted by the National Center for Creative Aging, Washington DC. Adriane Boag, Youth and Community Programs Manager, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, will also present the NGA's Art and Alzheimer's program at the conference.

The Role of Media - New and Old

Clive Parkinson, Director, Arts for Health, Manchester Metropolitan University, works with Arts Council England, the Department of Health and a range of partners to better understand the impact of creativity, culture and the arts on health and well-being. Over the past 3 years, Clive Parkinson led the HM Treasury funded research and development project, The Invest to Save: Arts in Health. Clive will give a keynote presentation on the role of the media in influencing the public health agenda and behavioural change, exploring the notions of 'popularist' and 'elitis't and investigating how the arts and health agenda might better communicate its story through the media. The presentation will offer examples of media manipulation and impact and develop a pro-active approach to working with the media.

In addition, Clive will facilitate the workshop Show and Tell: Film, Sound and New Media Critical Showcase which will provide an opportunity for delegates using film/sound/new-media in research, evaluation, practice and marketing to share examples and generate constructive dialogue around the use of film, sound and new media in arts and health contexts.

Creative Ageing

Susan Perlstein, Co-founder and Director of Education, the National Center for Creative Aging, Washington DC. Susan also founded and directed for 20 years the highly successful Elders Share the Arts, Brooklyn, New York (est 1979) which won the Older Person Award for Intergenerational Programs in 1998. Susan has worked closely with Dr Gene Cohen on aging research and co-authored the paper The Impact of Professionally Conducted Cultural Programs on the Physical Health, Mental Health, and Social functioning of Older Adults (The gerontologist, vol 45, No 6, 726-734). She is author and editor of numerous articles and journal editions including Arts and Aging in generations, a publication of The American Society on Aging (Spring 2006) and Creativity Matters: The Arts and Aging Toolkit (2007). Susan has been a key catalyst in garnering Congressional support and government funding for healthy ageing initiatives and research programs in the US. Susan’s keynote presentation will address policy issues, programming and research in relation to creative ageing.

Best Practice Arts and Health Programs in the USA

Paula Terry, Director, Office for Accessibility, National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Office for AccessAbility, Washington DC, has established leadership initiatives in Creativity and Aging, Universal Design, Careers in the Arts for Individuals with Disabilities, Arts in Healthcare and Arts in Corrections. Paula Terry's office developed a partnership with the public and private sectors to support the "Creativity and Aging Study" with Dr Gene Cohen and George Washington University. Completed in 2006, this multiyear study was the first research project of its kind to measure and quantify the impact of professional arts programming on the quality of life for older adults. Paula Terry was a co-convenor of the Mini-conference on Creativity and Aging in America to develop recommendations for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging. Paula Terry’s keynote presentation will showcase Best Practice Programs for Arts and Health in the United States including hospitals for adults and children, community services and and research and evaluation.

Community Arts and Health

Mike White, Senior Research and Development fellow in Arts in Health, Centre for Medical Humanities and St. Chad’s College, University of Durham, UK. Mike has written extensively on the subject of community arts and health and his most recent book Arts Development in Community Health – a social tonic has recently been published by Radcliffe, Oxford (March 2009). Mike White’s keynote presentation will consider how and why the practice of arts in community health has rapidly become a small-scale global phenomenon, the characteristics of its practice and the challenges it poses for evaluation, and will summarise what has been learnt from a number of case studies and other forms of research from the UK and elsewhere.

Mike White is also co-convening the pre-conference workshop on the subject 'Are we there yet? Finding the means for meaningful international exchange of practice and research in community-based arts in health' with Alison Clough, Creative Director, Pioneer Projects and Looking Well, UK and David Doyle, Executive Director, DADAA WA. Read about Mike White's previous visits to Australia.

Indigenous Arts and Health

Well known panelist on the ABC's New Inventors program, Alison Page is also Regional Aboriginal Cultural Development Officer at Arts Mid North Coast. Alison Page is responsible for implementing Foundation of our Future, a 5 year strategy, which positions culture as the foundation for the long term social, economic and environmental development of the region's Aboriginal communities. Alison is working with Arts and Health Australia to create a dynamic stream within the conference relating to Indigenous Arts and Health that will encompass exhibitions, music, dance, film and practical workshops. The conference will open with a special Welcome to Country presented by Birpai elder William 'Uncle Bill' O'Brien, who was named Hastings Citizen of the Year in 2008, for his work promoting cultural awareness and advocacy of Indigenous issues.

The Future of the Arts in Healthcare Internationally

Naj Wikoff MA, Fulbright Senior Specialist and President Emeritus of the Society for the Arts in Healthcare, Washington DC, is President of the Creative Healing Connections, based in New York, which organizes arts and healing retreats for women living with cancer and other chronic diseases, veterans of war, and other special populations. Naj Wikoff is also coordinator for Connecting Youth and Community, which uses the arts to serve youth at risk. He is the author of the Americans for the Arts monographs Cultures of Care, The Arts in Times of Trauma and Arts in Medicine: Linking Culture to Care; Taking Care Starts in Medical School for Medscape; Art in Hospitals for State magazine; and Bringing the Arts Back into Healthcare for Russia Today. Naj will lead a plenary session, ‘The Future of the Arts in Healthcare’ – which will explore the challenges and opportunities facing the integration of the arts and humanities in healthcare, medical education, and in institutional and community settings.

Clinicians' Wellbeing through Creativity

Dr Hilton Koppe is a GP based in Lennox Head, Northern NSW, and Senior Medical Educator with North Coast NSW GP Training. Hilton Koppe has a special interest in the field of doctors' wellbeing which has led him to explore the way the humanities, in particular, creative writing, can help doctors and other health practitioners reignite passion for their work and for the creative side of their lives, while at the same time, helping to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue. In addition, to a presentation on this subject, Hilton Koppe will present a workshop 'Beyond the Patient Record - Creative Writing for Clinicians'.

This workshop will be one of a series of creative 'hands on' workshops presented at the conference encompassing painting, drawing, ceramics, jewellery making, quilting, weaving, film, photography, theatre, poetry, music, dance and more.

Palliative Care on Stage

Australian playwright Alan Hopgood AM, in collaboration with Molly Carlile, Manager, North and West Metropolitan Region Palliative Care Consortium, Victoria, will present the short play Four Funerals in One Day in the Glasshouse Theatre on one evening of the conference. The play is based on the importance and value of stories in palliative care and will be followed by a group forum. Alan Hopgood's play The Carer, starring Charles 'Bud' Tingwell was highly praised for its treatment of Alzheimer's disease and its warmth and humour. Since then Alan has written several plays addressing health issues, ranging from diabetes and prostate cancer to geriatric sex. Four Funerals in One Day is the most recent and includes a cast of 4 actors. Alan Hopgood was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the performing arts as an actor, playwright and producer to the community through raising awareness of men's health issues.

Arts and Health Alive and Well in a Bed Near You

Hear latest developments in arts and health programs in hospitals for children and adults in Australia, UK and the US. Details regarding speakers and presentations will be released shortly.

Inaugural Australian Arts and Health Awards

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