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Making Waves: a deep-dive on arts & health

a gathering of leading voices in arts and health for a community-wide examination of the essential role of the arts in health and wellness 

with a goal to address community health in KC through the arts.

September 18th 2p to 7:30p – $20

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

REGISTER HERE!
WORKSHOPS
SPEAKERS

Welcome to the groundswell!

Together we’re making waves, challenging our culture to recognize and invest in the healing power of the arts.

We are taking concrete steps toward making arts projects like social prescribing* a reality in KC.

To stay in touch, and build bridges across sectors, please complete this form ->

*Social Prescribing: A holistic approach to healthcare leveraging arts, cultural, and other non-medical activities to enhance mental and physical health.

Event Highlights

Workshop Sessions

2:00p-4:30p

Your choice of two out of six workshop opportunities:

  • Popcorn Songwriting, with the Rebel Song Academy,

  • Joy through Movement, improvised movement with Karen Lisondra, 

  • Meditative Making, a somatic art experience,

  • Verbal and Tactile Tour, designed for visually impaired people (open to all),

  • A Beautiful Disruption, a multisensory art experience,

  • Collaboration Lab, intentional cross-sector connecting and resource sharing.

Karen Lisondra

Explore the beautiful Nelson-Atkins Museum while hearing the original songs of the Rebel Song Academy youth songwriting program. Enjoy drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and the company of arts and health leaders of KC.

Reception

4:30-6:00pm

Hosted by Art as Mentorship founder and Making Movies lead singer Enrique Chi, the show will feature talks with industry innovators, live brain scans, Latin Grammy Award-winning artist La Lulu, and more!

Featured speakers below

ArtsRx LIVE!

6:00p-7:30p

Guest Innovators

  • Arts for Everybody - One Nation, One Project

    Clyde Valentín is a multidisciplinary artist, educator and cultural producer. With a passion for exploring the intersections of art, technology and social justice, Valentin has created numerous exhibitions and programs that challenge traditional boundaries. Most recently, he co-led the Arts for Everybody campaign, establishing cross-sector bridges between arts, health, and government groups, convening arts programs from across the US.

  • New Jersey Performing Arts Center

    Working at the intersections of arts and health, Alyson Maier-Lokuta works to integrate creative practices as positive health behaviors. She is Assistant VP, Arts & Wellbeing at NJPAC, a New Jersey Performing Arts center which piloted one of the nation’s first social prescribing programs in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield. As passionate about data as she is about the arts (and arts as data), Aly combines evidence-based practice with creative and innovative approaches.

  • Arab Institute, Paris

    Nathalie Bondil, a French-Canadian Art Historian and Curator, pioneered the concept of “museotherapy” to reframe the role of the museum in individual and community wellness through a continuum of engagement in the arts while serving as director general and chief curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Bondil was instrumental in bringing the world’s first museum and healthcare-partnered social prescribing program in Quebec, where doctors could prescribe free museum visits as a means of helping improve their patient’s mental and physical health.

  • National League of Cities

    Georgia Gempler is Program Manager of Health & Wellbeing at the National League of Cities (NLC). In this role, Georgia focuses on the intersection of art and public health, working with local governments to achieve their public health goals in partnership with artists. She helps local policymakers work towards improved community and individual wellbeing through policy and systems changes. Cross-sector partnerships and building participatory practices are her specialty.

  • University of Kansas Medical Center

    Rebecca Lepping is a cognitive neuroscientist, music psychologist, and musician with more than 15 years of experience in MRI research, specializing in MRI and functional MRI methodology. As a Research Assistant Professor, Neurology at KU Medical Center, Rebecca’s research interest is in affective neuroscience, specifically the intersection of music, emotion-processing, and decision-making.

  • University of Florida - Center for Arts and Medicine

    Nicole Morgan is the Research Manager for the UF Center for Arts in Medicine. She currently manages research conducted within the CAM Interdisciplinary Lab, the EpiArts lab, and the One Nation, and the One Project Research and Impact Lab. Her research interests include the arts in public health, as well as the connection between aesthetic experiences, community connection and wellbeing.

  • Connect Neurofeedback

    Tyler Mark received dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and philosophy from the University of Missouri – Kansas City and a Master’s in Applied Neuroscience from King’s College, London. Prior to co-founding Connect Neurofeedback, Tyler worked as a Case Manager for youth, ages 5-18, focusing on the social-emotional regulation of his clients, highest-need students.

    Upon receiving a concussion while working with this population, Tyler received Neurofeedback training from a provider in Winooski, Vermont. Having been informed by the neurologist and various therapists that he had reached “maximum medical intervention,” Tyler continued to improve in areas of attention, emotional regulation, and migraines (both pain and visual distortions), through continued Neurofeedback training. Tyler completed his MSc in Applied Neuroscience at King’s College – London (February 2023) and will graduate in 2026 with a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from John Carroll University.

  • Missouri Arts Council

    Piper Hutson, EdD, is an adjunct professor and Arts and Health Specialist focusing on neurodiversity, cognitive neuroscience, and the transformative potential of art in healing. Piper explores the intersections of brain networks, sensory experiences, and creative practices to foster access, collaborating with state arts councils, museums, and healthcare organizations.

    As the Arts and Health Specialist for the Missouri Arts Council, Piper is passionate about exploring the intersection of neurodiversity, art, and health, focusing on how cultural spaces can promote well-being and accessibility.

Workshops

Popcorn Songwriting

In this interactive session, participants will co-create an original song from start to finish. Guided by Rebel Song Academy mentors, the group will toss around theme and melody ideas “popcorn-style,” building a song together in real time. This workshop offers a joyful, therapeutic moment of collective art-making — no music or songwriting experience needed, just your voice and ideas.

Meditative Making

Close, considerate looking leads to surprising connections with works of art. An experienced teaching artist will facilitate quality time in the galleries, sketching, observing, and contemplating. The session will wrap up in a studio classroom with the opportunity to further develop sketches using a variety of media. This session is designed for all levels, from the experienced artist to the hesitant creative.

Joy through Movement

This inclusive movement workshop invites participants of all abilities to explore connection, trust, and self-expression through guided improvisation. Facilitated by performer Karen Lisondra, the session encourages embodied interaction with the sculptures, the space, and one another. Through gentle prompts rooted in consent, confidence, and flow, participants will co-create a moving experience that centers presence and shared creativity — no dance experience required. 

Experience art in a whole new way through our Verbal Description and Tactile Tour. Originally designed for individuals who are blind or partially sighted, today’s special offering invites you to wear gloves and explore select objects through touch, guided by vivid language and meaningful shared dialogue.

Tactile Tour

Collaboration Lab

Part connection session, part creative brainstorm, this workshop reimagines the classic “speed dating” format as a space for resource-sharing, mutual aid, and collaboration. Participants are invited to bring what they have to offer — skills, tools, ideas, space, time — and explore what’s possible when we connect with intention. Through guided prompts and rapid rounds of exchange, we’ll ask, What can we offer each other? What can we build together? This is a time to think beyond the usual and imagine bold, collective futures.

A Beautiful Disruption

This immersive, multisensory experience transports you into the worlds of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, including Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Cézanne. Light and sound guide us through formative works of art and provide insights through the artists’ own words. A facilitated discussion and series of exercises follow with a focus on overcoming self-doubt, cultivating supportive peer relationships, and risk-taking. 

This program is made possible by