JEDDAH: The Jameel Arts & Health Lab — a collaboration between Saudi, US and UK organizations — is staging its annual UNGA Healing Arts Week festival in New York from Sept. 20 to 26, alongside the 2025 UN General Assembly and in collaboration with the World Health Organization.
For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @arabnews.lifestyle
The festival, which will feature events in venues across New York, is centered, according to a press release, around “a bold new vision: to recognize arts engagement as a health behavior — on par with physical activity, nutrition, sleep, time in nature, and social connection.”
Stephen Stapleton, a founding co-director of the lab, elaborated. “As the burden of health challenges grows, traditional healthcare systems — designed primarily to treat illness — are proving insufficient on their own,” he told Arab News. “Arts and health interventions can offer a complementary, preventive approach; one that builds community connection, strengthens resilience and engages directly with the broader determinants of health. By integrating these approaches into our health systems, the arts can become a vital health asset, supporting both individual and population well-being.
