The Healing Power of Art – How Creativity and Beauty Help Cure the Ill

In a world of miracle drugs and advanced medical technology, we can easily forget some of the most basic elements of health and wellness: the power of art, and how the beauty of words and images can help heal us. For over 20 years, Bellevue Literary Review has published contributions by those on the front-lines of healthcare—be they medical providers, patients, families, or caregivers. Learn how art and literature provides a bulwark against the vicissitudes of human frailty, with dispatches from the Covid Era and beyond.

Join BLR Editor-in-Chief Danielle Ofri and BLR writers Abba Belgrave, Samuel Autman, and Sharon Pretti in an exploration of the power of art to help both the ill and their health providers grapple with the medical and psychological challenges of illness.

This panel will explore BLR’s long history of providing artistic relief to the medical community, first-responders, the general public, and those in need of curing. The panelists will discuss their own first-hand experiences with the power of art and literature to wrestle with the existential issues of human life, and provide the creative depth often missing in our societal discourse about healthcare.

The event will include live performances by the panelists as they discuss how the “Health Effect of Art” can be understood from a personal, professional, and societal perspectives. A follow-up Q&A period will allow audience members to interact with the artists.

Participants must register by NOON on January 25th to receive details on joining the discussion. The Zoom link will be sent out 24 hours before the event.