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
Thursday 18th June 2026, 09:00 – 16:00 National Gallery, Edinburgh
The themes of the conference will explore: Arts and Life stages; Arts and Innovation and Arts and the Environment and will provide insights into global and Scotland based work as well as the opportunity to network and build connections.
The Conference will also be streamed via YouTube. If you want to reach the online streaming please register here.
Jill Sonke, PhD, is a US Cultural Policy Fellow with Stanford University, Co-director of the EpiArts Lab, a National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab in partnership with University College London, and Director of Research Initiatives and a Research Professor in the Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida (UF). She is an artist, cultural strategist and mixed-methods researcher, and is the recipient of over 350 grants and awards for her programs and research at the intersection of the arts and health.
Yazmany Arboleda is a Colombian-American artist, architect, and civic designer whose work treats art as a collective action—something people do together to shape belonging, dignity, and public life. He is New York City’s inaugural People’s Artist at the Civic Engagement Commission and Founder and Artistic Director of The People’s Creative Institute, a civic art studio that transforms everyday public spaces into sites of storytelling, healing, and democratic participation. He also serves as Senior Artistic Advisor for the Community Arts Network and teaches futures-oriented design at Cornell University.
Manira Ahmad is the Chief Officer at Public Health Scotland, where she champions a vision of a healthier, fairer Scotland. She serves as a Board Member at City of Glasgow College and as a Board Director at Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector. She is Chair of the Scottish Minority Ethnic Women’s Network, a Trustee for the SAPC Community Sports Hub, and Strategic Advisor to The DataKirk, an employability charity. Most recently, she was appointed to the Board of the Anti‑Racism Observatory for Scotland, reflecting her enduring commitment to equity, representation and local empowerment.
Nils Fietje is a Technical Officer within the Behavioural and Cultural Insights (BCI) Unit at the WHO Regional Office for Europe. He has a background in English literature and the cultural history of medicine. As part of the BCI Unit, he is leading efforts to understand how cultural contexts affect and interact with health and wellbeing across the lifespan and throughout the continuum of care. Nils’ work includes a particular focus on the nexus of arts and health, having coordinated the first-ever WHO report on the evidence base for arts and health interventions. As part of this work, Nils focuses on supporting the Lab’s policy development and research implementation.
Sonia Sabri is a multi-award-winning dance artist and choreographer. She is one of the world’s leading Kathak dancers, amongst the brightest and most inspirational of British born dancer-choreographers working in the twenty-first century. Recent Awards and Nominations include: The Bench Fellowship 2016, The National Indian Arts Award for Distinguished Teacher of Dance in 2017, The National Diversity Awards 2018. ACTA awards for Dance 2016 and 2019. Birmingham Inspiration Awards & The Best Female Dancer. Sonia Sabri is the Artistic Director of award-winning dance and music company Sonia Sabri Company. Sonia Sabri Company is an Associate organisation at Birmingham Hippodrome and won The Prestige Awards 2019 for the best dance company. Sonia is a member of the Board of DanceXchange Birmingham and is one of 16 Resident Creatives who will play a key role in shaping the future of the CURVE theatre, Leicester.
Dr. Nisha Sajnani is Professor of Creative Arts Therapies at New York University and founding co-director of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, established in collaboration with the World Health Organization. Bridging research, practice, and policy on the health value of the arts across the life course, she leads an international research network, co-leads a landmark Lancet collection on arts and health, and advances WHO policy, including a recent brief on the role of the arts in addressing the health impacts of climate change. She is also on faculty with the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, where she leads on the role of the arts in humanitarian care.
Gregor was appointed Chief Medical Officer for Scotland in December 2020. Gregor is a GP and former medical director for primary care in NHS Lanarkshire. He began working for the Scottish Government as a medical adviser in primary care in 2012 as part of the negotiating team for the Scottish GP contract, subsequently leading the development of a new quality framework for general practice in Scotland. He was appointed Deputy Chief Medical Officer in 2015, interim Chief Medical Officer in April 2020, and Chief Medical Officer in December 2020. He is the principal medical adviser to Scottish ministers and leads on a broad range of professional activity, where he is a passionate advocate of person-centred approaches to care and widening participation in medical careers.
Dana MacLeod leads Creative Scotland’s artistic and creative development, helping to build a more diverse, equitable and sustainable sector and providing strategic leadership and direction to the Arts team; Place, Partnerships and Communities team; and the EDI team. Dana has worked in arts and culture throughout her career including, most recently, as Director of Arts for the British Council in South Asia, where she had overall leadership for British Council’s arts and culture work in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Afghanistan facilitating opportunities and exchange between the UK and South Asia.
Larissa W. Trinder serves as Assistant Vice President for Arts in Medicine at New York City Health + Hospitals, where she leads one of the most ambitious arts-in-healthcare initiatives in the country. She oversees the stewardship, exhibition strategy, conservation, maintenance, acquisition, and curation of the health system’s collection of more than 7,500 works of art—the largest non-museum collection in New York City—with many pieces dating back to the 1930s. Installed throughout the system’s facilities, the collection advances evidence-based design principles that support patient experience, enhance trust, and improve workplace environments for staff.
Paul was appointed Chief Executive of Public Health Scotland in March 2023. Prior to this role, Paul spent eight years as a member of the Executive Team and Corporate Board in the Scottish Government. His responsibilities covered many areas of social policy that impact on health. He was Director General for Education and Justice between 2015 and 2021. Paul became Director General for Communities in 2021 with responsibility for social security, housing, equality, human rights, local government and public service reform. Paul is a qualified lawyer and joined the Scottish Government in 2000, holding a range of legal and policy roles including a secondment as a Director in the UK Government.
Dr Len McCaffer is currently the Arts Programme Manager (Participation) for NHS Lothian Charity: Tonic Arts. He is also the Chair of Arts Culture Wellbeing Scotland and has been a trustee since 2020. He has a vast experience of facilitating and managing arts projects in community and health settings. For the Tonic programme he has worked in partnership with Edinburgh International Festival, Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet and National Theatre of Scotland and the programme delivers impactful, award winning projects to patients, staff, and visitors. Len has also worked for a local authority and third sector; he holds an MA in Film Production from Edinburgh Napier University and has completed a PhD in theatre and community engagement.
Scottish Opera’s education unit is the oldest of its kind in the world of opera, having been in existence for over 55 years. Jane Davidson MBE is the Director of Education and Outreach at Scottish Opera, recognised for her innovative work in opera education and community engagement where she leads programme that introduce opera to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. She has been instrumental in developing initiatives designed to enable people, particularly in communities in socially & economically deprived areas, to see it return to its roots as a model for social change through the power of music and passionate storytelling, emphasising its role as a social leveller.
