Can Art Save Lives? The Health Benefits of the Arts and Arts Therapies

Catalog description

In what ways can participating in the arts enhance mental, physical, social, civic, and public health? This course offers a dynamic, interdisciplinary exploration of how the arts and arts therapies are used in healthcare, cultural institutions, rehabilitation centers, schools, and communities to support health and wellbeing. Drawing on local examples of practice in Abu Dhabi and across the UAE, together with insights from advocates for the arts and wellbeing from other countries, students examine the transformative potential of the arts in supporting and improving lives in practice and policy. Through both individual and group creative activities in class and in the city, students will gain firsthand experience with the arts as a vital tool for fostering health, care, and well-being. Activities include arts-based activities in the class, lectures from local practitioners, and visits to cultural and health centers that have had a longstanding commitment to uniting the arts and wellbeing. This course will be offered in January-Term 2026.