Kunle Adewale Appointed as Steering Committee Member for WHO Jameel Arts & Health Lab

Yinka Olatunbosun

Nigeria’s leading artist, 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 who was endorsed by the Arts Council England as a global leader in the field of Arts in health in 2022 currently resides in Manchester United Kingdom where he continues to engage leading experts, cultural producers, researchers, scholars, academic institutions, and arts in health practitioners in Europe and the global south.

As a part of the cohort for the WHO Arts Practice and Ethics of Care project, Adewale looks forward to this opportunity to deepen conversations on global arts and health initiatives.

“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.

The Jameel Arts & Health Lab has been established by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, the Steinhardt School at New York University, Community Jameel, and CULTURUNNERS. Focused on overlooked and underserved communities, the lab will coordinate and amplify academic research into the effectiveness of the arts in improving health and well-being to drive policy implementation across 194 UN member states.

The Jameel Arts & Health Lab was launched at The National Arts Club in New York on February 27, 2023,following the signing of agreements between the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, the Steinhardt School at New York University (NYU), Community Jameel, and CULTURUNNERS. The lab will coordinate and amplify scientific research into the effectiveness of the arts in improving health and well-being to drive policy implementation across 193 UN member states. The lab represents the first major arts and health initiative in the history of the WHO and follows its 2019 report on the role of the arts in preventing illness and promoting health.

Based between NYU Steinhardt and WHO’s Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen, the lab will highlight arts and health research to promote the broad integration of the arts into mainstream care. Initial projects will look at music’s effect on mothers who experience postnatal depression, the potential of cultural archives in promoting post-conflict mental health recovery, and the effectiveness of the arts in dementia care. It will also launch an international research coalition investigating the benefits of the arts in hospitals and care communities.

Speaking on the lab initiative, WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarked:“The arts can be a powerful ally in our quest to improve health for all. I have seen the impact of the arts on community wellbeing, and I’m very pleased that this collaboration will help us understand the science of that impact in order to improve the lives of people from all backgrounds.”

Likewise, 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.”

In the same vein, 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.”