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 bi-annual 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
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.
