Artist and leading advocate for Arts and Health, Kunle Adewale has been appointed as one of the distinguished steering committee members for the WHO-Jameel Arts and Health Lab in New York. The international artist currently resides in Manchester, United Kingdom, where he continues to collaborate with top experts, cultural producers, researchers, scholars, academic institutions, and practitioners of arts in health in Europe and the global south. In 2022, the Arts Council England recognized him as a global leader in the field of arts in health.
Kunle’s works focus on therapeutic art projects, with a specific emphasis on improving health and health-related outcomes. Today, he has impacted over 15,000 beneficiaries through his art programmes in Nigeria, other African countries, Asia and the United States. Adewale is eager to take advantage of this chance to expand on discussions about international arts and health initiatives as a member of the cohort for the WHO Arts Practice and Ethics of Care project. ThisDay live in Nigeria, captures Kunle’s excitement.
“This is a great opportunity and a humble privilege to work alongside global leaders in the field of arts and health to deepen research, educate and foster a greater interdisciplinary approach for more significant impact and sustainable development for good health and wellbeing. This initiative will further strengthen regional and global collaborations and provide the needed resources for emerging arts in health practitioners, students, scholars, professionals, and institutions. Arts is a unifier and can provide the needed engagement for healing and hope. The continuous advocacy of the union of arts and health is a big win for all sectors,’’ he said.
On 27 February 2023, the Jameel Arts & Health Lab launched at The National Arts Club as a global initiative between the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe, the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University, Community Jameel and CULTURUNNERS. Focused on overlooked and underserved communities, the lab will coordinate and amplify scientific research into the effectiveness of the arts in improving health and wellbeing to drive policy implementation across 193 UN member states.
In order to promote policy implementation across 193 UN member states, the lab will coordinate and amplify scientific studies on how well the arts may improve health and wellbeing. The lab comes in the wake of the WHO’s 2019 study on the importance of the arts in preventing sickness and promoting health, which marks the first significant arts and health program in the organization’s history.
The lab will emphasize arts and health research to encourage the widespread integration of the arts into mainstream healthcare. It is situated between NYU Steinhardt and WHO’s Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen. The first research initiatives will examine the impact of music on postpartum depressed moms, the potential of cultural archives to support post-conflict mental health recovery, and the efficacy of the arts in dementia care. Also, a global research alliance will be established to study the advantages of the arts in healthcare facilities.
Fady Jameel, Vice Chairman of Community Jameel, said: “The pivotal role of the arts in health and care continues to be highlighted through an ever-expanding body of research. With the establishment of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, we hope to leverage this research in order to advance the integration of the arts into mainstream care and improve the health and wellbeing of millions of people across the world.”
Christopher Bailey, Arts and Health lead at the WHO, said: “We have known for some time that the arts can be an effective tool to promote health. But are the arts and creativity actually an intrinsic part of our wellbeing? An increasing body of evidence suggests that participating in the arts and creative practice may help us cope, improve our abilities, and help form bonds of community. The Lab will help us understand how this works and how to share the benefits as widely as possible.”
With the assistance of trained Kunle Adewale, we hope to see growth and further development of the Arts in Health scene.
