Bartos Theater, 4 W 54th Street, New York, NY 10019
© 2024 The Museum of Modern Art. Photo: onwhitewall.com.
Description
Over the past decade, the field of arts and health has grown substantially, with expanding research documenting how creative practice drives clinical and community outcomes. At its core, this work affirms that aesthetic experience is not a luxury but fundamental to human flourishing.
Nowhere is this more visible than in New York City, home to one of the most extensive public art collections in the world: artworks line subway stations, fill school hallways, anchor civic spaces, and hang in hospital corridors, reaching millions of New Yorkers and visitors every day. When a rider pauses before an artwork on a train platform, when a child grows up alongside a commissioned work in their school, or when a patient encounters a carefully placed painting in a clinical space, the encounter with art offers a form of care.
What would it mean to recognize this public art infrastructure as a public health mandate? This symposium sets out to explore that question, bringing together public art practitioners, artists, researchers, policymakers, and cultural leaders to begin thinking about public art as essential to the health of the city.
This symposium is organized by NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine.
Event Flow
9:30 AM: Doors Open; coffee and mingling
10 AM: Opening Remarks, Leonardo Bravo, Director of Learning and Public Engagement, MoMA and Larissa W. Trinder, Executive Director, NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine
10:15 AM: Artist Spotlight: Jamel Robinson
Jamel Robinson
10:30 AM: Panel 1: Visual Art as Therapeutic Intervention
Moderated by Monica Mariño, Director of Programming, NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine
Monica Mariño, Director of Programming, NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine
Kendal Henry, Assistant Commissioner of Public Art, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
Tina Vaz, Director, MTA Arts and Design
Tania Duvergne, Director, Public Art for Public Schools at NYC School Construction Authority
Ryan Patrick, Curator, NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine
11:30 AM: MoMA Showcase I
12:00 PM: Lunch provided (included in registration)
1 PM: Remarks from Rick Luftglass, Executive Director of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
Rick Luftglass, Executive Director of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
1:10 PM: Panel 2: Policy and Research
Moderated by Larissa W. Trinder, Executive Director, NYC Health + Hospitals/Arts in Medicine; Adjunct Faculty, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Larissa W. Trinder, Executive Director, NYC Health + Hospitals/Arts in Medicine; Adjunct Faculty, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Sarah Calderón, Senior Advisor for Cultural Life, City of New York
Yazmany Arboleda, Inaugural People’s Artist, NYC Civic Engagement Commission
Jill Sonke, Stanford and Federal Reserve Bank of New York Cultural Policy Fellow
Tooshar Swain, Senior Director, Public Policy Americans for the Arts
2:15 PM: MoMA Showcase II
2:30 PM: Closing Remarks
Guests are welcome to explore the galleries
Date
Wednesday, December 9, 2026
Time
9:30am to 2:30pm
Location
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Bartos Theater, 4 W 54th Street, New York, NY 10019
