04/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/17/2024 11:56
First ever Renée Fleming NeuroArts Investigator Awards given to researchers in the emerging field of neuroarts.
Contact: Eric Baker
Media Relations Manager
[email protected]
Washington, DC, April 17, 2024 - Researchers studying the impact of dance on brainwave patterns, assessing the value of drawing for reducing anxiety, and measuring the neurophysiological benefits of live music for people with early Alzheimer's disease are among the recipients of the first-ever Renée Fleming NeuroArts Investigator Awards.
The inaugural winners of the annual award were announced today by the Renée Fleming Foundation and the NeuroArts Blueprint initiative (a partnership between Johns Hopkins University and the Aspen Institute). These early-career investigators are working in interdisciplinary settings across the sciences and the arts to inform the emerging field of neuroarts, defined as the study of how the arts and aesthetic experiences measurably change the body, brain, and behavior and how this knowledge is translated into practices that advance health and wellbeing. The NeuroArts Blueprint initiative was launched in 2019 to help build the neuroarts field.
"We are thrilled to seed research that uses a range of methodologies to advance our knowledge about how all art forms influence health," said Eric Nestler, MD, PhD, neuroscientist and dean for academic affairs and chief scientific officer at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and co-chair of the NeuroArts Blueprint Advisory Council. Nestler also co-chaired the blue-ribbon committee that evaluated the award proposals. "Building a deeper evidence base to explain the science involved will allow academics, funders, and policymakers to elevate music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and so many other art modalities to promote our health."
The Renée Fleming NeuroArts Investigator Awards fund both basic and applied research, supporting a broad range of innovative and collaborative work. "This expanded exploration promises discovery that will aid human wellness," said Anna Deavere Smith, actor, playwright, and University Professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, who also co-chaired the awards review committee. "It is a growing field that will likely spark innovation for arts pedagogies. An outcome: healthier people and healthier art."
Renée Fleming, the renowned soprano, is artistic advisor to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, co-chair of the NeuroArts Blueprint Advisory Council, World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health, and author of the just-published anthology Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness. Fleming commented, "The awards program reflects both my own experience of the power of the arts and a commitment to foster inquiry and collaboration among young scientists and artists, nurturing the imaginative spirit that propels the expanding neuroarts field." Fleming added, "I also wish to thank Jeralyn Glass and her family for their generous contribution, in memory of Dylan Sage, to the Renée Fleming Foundation in support of these awards. Other private and public support is being sought to increase the number and size of awards as the NeuroArts Investigator Awards Program grows."
Each funded project includes young collaborators from both the science and arts sectors. Seven basic and applied research projects will receive a total of $122,500 to:
"These awardees are working at the intersection of medical research, the arts, and technology," said Susan Magsamen, MAS, executive director of the Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab, who codirects the NeuroArts Blueprint initiative. "We expect their work will lead to larger awards as they generate and publish their findings."
"The projects we selected reflect the vision of the NeuroArts Blueprint initiative," added Ruth J. Katz, JD, MPH, executive director of the Health, Medicine & Society Program at the Aspen Institute, who also codirects this initiative. "The work will allow us to advance our overall mission of building the neuroarts field so that the arts become part of mainstream medicine and public health."
The Renée Fleming Foundation is committed to helping build the future of music and health research and to nurture emerging artists through targeted projects and by supporting organizations engaged in this critical work.
The Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics is a multidisciplinary translation research-to-practice initiative that brings together brain scientists and practitioners in the visual and performing arts, architecture and design, and creative arts therapies to foster collaboration and accelerate the field of neuroaesthetics, with the goal of amplifying human potential. Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876, is America's first research university.
The Health, Medicine and Society Program of the Aspen Institute connects influential groups of thought leaders, decisionmakers, and the informed public to tackle 21st-century US health challenges. At the heart of its rigorously nonpartisan work is a package of research, convenings, and publications that supports policymakers, scholars, advocates, and other stakeholders in their drive towards change. A public-facing component helps grow a constituency for innovative ideas. The Aspen Institute is a Washington, DC-based global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society.