Healthcare and arts meet at 'Healing Arts Atlanta' conference

A gathering of community leaders, artists, public health advocates and healthcare professionals, is filling Atlanta with art, conversation and suggestions for action from October 7th through 11th. (John Lewis mural by Marcel W. Foster)

A gathering of community leaders, artists, public health advocates, and healthcare professionals, is filling Atlanta with art, conversation and suggestions for action from Oct. 7 through 11.

Healing Arts Atlanta is a conference and event series that focuses this year on systemic racism and healing the inequities in our communities through connection with the arts.

Dr. Eve Byrd, Director of the Mental Health Program at the Carter Center and Georgia State Representative Kim Schofield recently sat down with “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes to share more about the upcoming events, discussions and workshops featured at the conference.

When asked about the Healing Arts Atlanta Initiative that this conference falls under, Dr. Byrd shared with Lois the organizations involved, namely The Carter Center, Performance Hypothesis and the Jamil Arts and Health Lab, “share a mission to improve health and well-being through the arts.”

According to her, the initiative was launched in 2020 as a direct response to the COVID-19 global pandemic and has grown significantly as the idea has gained traction in both the non-profit and legislative worlds. Opera singer Renee Fleming, goodwill ambassador for the World Health Organization, is also engaged in the initiative.

More information can be found here.