It’s often said that music, visual art, and dance can help people lead healthier lives.
To learn the science behind that theory, Palm Beach residents have an opportunity to attend the NeuroArts Conference, which is billed as “Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Theory and Artistic Application” on Saturday at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts’ Persson Hall.
Running from 9 a.m. to 4:40 p.m., the conference will feature panel discussions and workshops with leading experts centered on how arts-based activities can help improve mental health and physical health.
On Saturday, the Kravis Center will be hosting “NeuroArts Conference: Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Theory and Artistic Application” at Persson Hall.
“If you engage in the arts every few months, say you go to the theater or to an art museum, you will cumulatively have a 31% lower risk of premature death compared to those folks who don’t,” Kravis Center Senior Director of Education Tracy Butler said.
That statistic came from the work of Susan Magsamen, executive director of the John Hopkins School of Medicine’s International Arts + Mind Lab. Though Magsamen is unable to attend the conference, Butler there will be a pre-recorded message from the academic.
“One of the important pieces of information that she’ll discuss during her opening remarks is that we’re in a position where we can soon see insurers prescribe some of these art-based treatments,” Butler said. “That’s something that’s on the horizon.”
Delivering the keynote address will be Dr. Indre Viskontas, associate professor of psychology at the University of California San Francisco, where she leads The Creative Brain Lab. A neuroscientist, musician and opera director, Viskontas has published more than 50 academic works on the neural basis of memory, music and creativity.
“She works with folks recovering from traumatic brain injury, as well as rehabilitating those that have been incarcerated, by using the arts to help with rehab and recovery,” Butler said.
A collaborative effort between the Kravis Center’s ArtSmart Series and the Arts & Health program at Tampa’s David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, the conference lineup was curated by the Straz Center’s Community Engagement Specialist Frederick Johnson.
Johnson had previously led a Straz Center program that used the arts to aid military veterans suffering from PTSD.
One of those veterans, Tampa-based musician Theo Rooding, will feature on the conference’s Voices in Service panel, alongside U.S. Public Health Service Capt. Moira McGuire, former division chief of integrative health and wellness at Maryland’s Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
After the panel, the conference breaks into the various workshops including a music workshop led by New York University doctoral fellow Jasmine Edwards, a percussion workshop led by community organizer and West African drummer Abasi Hanif and a visual art workshop headed by Jody Sypher, exhibitions curator at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood.
Tickets are $65 for in-person attendance, and include a boxed lunch provided by the Kravis Center. There is also a $25 virtual webinar ticket, which includes coverage of the event’s keynote address and panel discussion.
The Kravis Center is at 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. For tickets and more information, call 561-832-7469 or visit kravis.org.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Kravis Center conference to examine the health benefits of the arts
