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
As part of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab’s global outreach campaign in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Healing Arts Scotland (HAS) is a biennial celebration of the role of the arts to improve health and wellbeing.
Launched in partnership with Scottish Ballet in 2024, and co-produced by a national coalition of organisations bridging culture, healthcare, education and policy, the initiative is designed to embed the arts into public health and community well-being across Scotland.
Through collaborative action, Healing Arts Scotland aims to identify and scale evidence-informed pathways to implementation, supporting asset-based frameworks that go beyond the treatment of illness, to addressing prevention in the communities that need it most.
Healing Arts Scotland 2026 is spearheaded by a dedicated HAS Legacy Team working in partnership with Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland, Creative Scotland, the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, and the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
The one-week activation will include a two-day academic conference, a national relay, performances, artist commissions, workshops, exhibitions, and a national media and marketing campaign
Catherine Cassidy is the creator and director of Healing Arts Scotland, developed in partnership with the Jameel Arts & Health Lab and organisations across Scotland. With over 25 years of experience using dance across community, health, and education settings, Catherine brings deep expertise to the intersection of arts and wellbeing.
Madeleine McGirk Rutherford is the Founding Managing Director of the International Teaching Artists Collaborative (ITAC), where she has built a global network of over 5,000 participatory artists working across schools and communities worldwide. Drawing on her background in education, theatre, and filmmaking, Madeleine specialises in arts for social transformation, designing creative engagement programmes both within and beyond traditional learning environments
Nancy Riach leads Arts Culture Health and Wellbeing Scotland (ACHWS), a national network that connects, advocates for, and supports those working at the intersection of arts, culture, health and wellbeing across Scotland. A specialist in marketing, communications and stakeholder management, Nancy brings over 30 years of experience spanning the full breadth of the arts and culture sector - from grassroots community practice to national companies and international festivals, including Scottish Ballet and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. She also sits on the National Centre for Creative Health Advisory Group, the Healing Arts Scotland Legacy Leadership Group, and the UK & Ireland Arts and Health Networks Forum.
SCOTTISH BALLET – HEALING ARTS CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
As Europe’s first Healing Arts Centre of Excellence, Scottish Ballet will play a key role in Healing Arts Scotland 2026. Joining world-class cultural institutions, Carnegie Hall and the National Gallery of Singapore, it will be supported as an international beacon for arts and health innovation and impact across research, practice and policy.
"The breadth of work highlighted the significant role of arts and culture in promoting wellbeing and positive health outcomes. It is events like this that support the shared learning and collaboration required for the Scottish Government’s ambition to harness the transformative potential of culture for communities across Scotland and beyond."
"Healing Arts Scotland 2024 was an inspirational week-long celebration of the huge impact the arts has on the nation’s health and wellbeing. Scottish Ballet is proud to have led on this global outreach project in collaboration with the WHO and a host of partner organisations throughout Scotland."
“Healing Arts Scotland demonstrates how the arts might help us reimagine our national model of health and social care in a way that can measurably impact communities, celebrating how the arts can create skylights of hope and joy for those people who need it the most.”
The Jameel Arts & Health Lab, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), is a global initiative leveraging scientific evidence, artist-led advocacy, and a global Healing Arts campaign to drive the integration of the arts in clinical and public health. The Lab was co-founded by WHO Regional Office for Europe, NYU Steinhardt, Community Jameel and Culturunners.
