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
Saturday 21 February 2026 | 1 - 5PM David Geffen Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, 10023
A full-day of curated events that explore the intersection of arts and wellbeing.
On February 21, 2026 Lincoln Center proudly presents their first-ever dedicated wellbeing summit at David Geffen Hall. You won’t want to miss Heartbeat, a full-day of curated events that explore the intersection of arts and wellbeing—a convergence scientifically proven to support mental health, physical wellbeing, and human connection.
Heartbeat brings together acclaimed artists across disciplines, healthcare professionals, and scientists at the top of their field for hybrid programs that contextualize the arts through a scientific lens, including performances, participatory movement sessions, expert-led classes, panels, sound experiences, and immersive virtual reality.
The inaugural summit highlights Lincoln Center’s commitment to accessibility, the performing arts as a community-building practice, wellbeing of mind, body, and spirit, and—ultimately—the restorative power of the arts. The full schedule will be announced soon.
Heartbeat will feature the voices of artists like Renée Fleming, Rufus Wainwright, and Kerry Shea from the School of American Ballet, as well as healthcare professionals and scientists like neuroscientists Dr. AZA Allsop and Dr. Charles Limb. And of course, other notable names include our staff, such as editorial director Richard Dorment and WH executive editor Abigail Cuffey.
Opening performance and remarks: Rufus Wainwright will perform several songs and join Dr. Limb for a conversation about the brain and how it experiences music.
Repetition in Music: How to Create a Community Through Spinning, 2:40 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. — Embrace your inner John Summit as DJ Gia Fu and music cognition expert Dr. Elizabeth Margulis discuss how the art of repetition turned music into a community-builder.
Chair Pilates, 3:30 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. — Exercise is a major booster of mental health, but not every workout has to leave you sweaty and out of breath. You’ll learn about how exercise can uplift both the individual and communal body, followed by a low-impact workout class led by Shea. She’ll guide you through movements for core engagement, mobility, and full-body strength, with extra support from the chair.
VR Experience with Soul Paint, 3:30 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. — Create your own virtual reality artwork with Soul Paint to get deeper in touch with your feelings, pain, memories, and body. Don’t miss the panel following the activation featuring artists, doctors, scientists, and music therapists to talk about how art can be integrated into the practice of healthcare.
