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
Friday 31 July | 6PM Kenneth C. Griffin Sidewalk Studio, David Geffen Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, NY 10023
Bringing together voices from music, neuroscience, public health, and community practice, this event explores how collective singing can be understood not only as cultural expression, but as a scalable public health resource.
What if singing together were recognized as a shared health practice for individuals and communities? Collective singing is one of the most powerful wellbeing practices humans share. From lullabies and community choirs to spontaneous public song, singing together is a universal behavior linked to stress reduction, improved mood, social bonding, and physiological regulation. A growing body of research shows that group singing can support mental wellbeing, reduce loneliness, and strengthen social connection—protective factors central to World Health Organization (WHO) priorities for population health and noncommunicable disease prevention. Bringing together voices from music, neuroscience, public health, and community practice, this event explores how collective singing can be understood not only as cultural expression, but as a scalable public health resource. Audiences are invited to reflect on how raising our voices together can help build healthier bodies, stronger relationships, and more connected communities.
This event will begin with members of the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center playing selections from William Grant Still's Motherless Child and George Gershwin's Lullaby.
Dr. Nisha Sajnani, curator and moderator - Professor and Director of the NYU Steinhardt Graduate Program in Drama Therapy, Founding Director of the Arts & Health @ NYU, and Co-Director of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, established in collaboration with the World Health Organization.
Troy Anthony, panelist - Kentucky-born, Obie Award winning composer/lyricist, director, and theater-maker based in NYC rigorously practicing Black queer joy. Founder of Fire Ensemble Inc, Troy's work lives at the intersection of art, social justice, and community practice.
Mary Mittleman, DrPH, panelist - Over a career spanning almost four decades, Dr. Mittleman bridges the gap between rigorous clinical research and practical, compassionate community support through her previous work as Principal Investigator of what is now known as the NYU Caregiver Intervention and as the founder of The Unforgettables, a chorus for people with dementia and their family members.
Liz Stanton, panelist - Associate Professor at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Music Director for the Threshold Choir of New York City, an international, non-profit service organization bringing comfort through song to those who are dying or at a threshold in life. Liz is an actor and theatre maker as well as a theatrical sound designer, with projects focusing on social issues, empowering female voices, and telling stories of underrepresented people.
Dr. Indre Viskontas, panelist - Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and director of the Creative Brain Lab at University of San Francisco, faculty member at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, President of the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity, and published scientist and author.
