UF Center for Arts in Medicine

01/14/2026

🎨 The January Arts in Health Today newsletter is live! Explore fresh opportunities, exciting projects, and ways to connect, learn, and make a difference in health through the arts.

Featured Opportunities:
🎭 UCL Social Biobehavioural Research Group | Research Fellow Job Opportunity | Applications Due January 23rd
🎶 Arts Council of Alachua County | 2026 Arts Conference Call For Presenters | Applications Due January 16th
⭐️ Creative Forces | Community Engagement Grants | Applications Due January 15th
🎤 National Endowment for the Arts | FY 26 Grants For Arts Projects | Applications Due February 12th
🥁 Benjamin Goldberg Foundation | Peace Out Portal Call For Artists | Email admin@benjamingoldbergfoundation.org

🔗 Find them all linked here: https://linktr.ee/ufcam

Stay in the loop—subscribe to get the latest updates delivered straight to your inbox each month 📬 http://eepurl.com/dHHvyX

01/13/2026

✨ New year, new newsletter!

This month, explore updates from the Center for Arts in Medicine, along with a handpicked selection of the latest opportunities, research, and resources in the arts in health field.

We’re excited to celebrate inspiring projects and collaborations shaping the arts in health community—locally and beyond. 🌎

🔗: https://mailchi.mp/arts/artsinhealthtoday_january2026-9314117

This month features insights from:
UF College of the Arts
UF College of Public Health and Health Professions
Mid-America Arts Alliance
National Endowment for the Arts
Creative Forces
Benjamin Goldberg Foundation
Carnegie Hall
Emory University
National Academy for Social Prescribing
Centre for Music and Health
California for the Arts
Washington Post
The New York Times
UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine
& more!

Stay connected—subscribe now and keep up with discoveries, innovations, and opportunities in the field. ➡️ http://eepurl.com/dHHvyX

01/12/2026

Creative “snacks” enrich the hospital experience, all at no charge to our patients. 🫶

Ways to request Arts in Medicine (AIM) services for in-patients at UF Health Shands:
📞 Call AIM at (352) 733-0880
📝 Ask your nurse or doctor to place an EPIC order for Arts in Medicine
📨 Send us an email (with the patient’s name and room number) to artsinmedicine@shands.ufl.edu

01/12/2026

01/12/2026

🎨 Calling all local artists!

Alachua County is inviting local artists to submit original artwork for display in the county’s administration building in downtown Gainesville.

The Arts in the County Administration Building Program showcases local creative talent while enhancing public spaces within county government.

Artists working in a wide range of visual media (including painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, digital art and mixed media) are encouraged to apply. Selected works may be displayed for approximately three months and may appear in county publications or televised County Commission meetings.

Interested parties must submit an application and agreement forms, which can be found under the "Art Loan" category on the website: tinyurl.com/4f57ubft.

Our website team is working to add a submission button at the link above. In the meantime, please email the completed forms to Gina Peebles at gpeebles@alachuacounty.us or mail them to:

Arts Council of Alachua County
12 SE 1st Street
Gainesville, FL 32601

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

01/12/2026

There are several science-based ways to boost your brain health. But this one might surprise you.

01/12/2026

Arts in Medicine and GROW HUB have partnered to offer FREE artmaking workshops for adults in the disability community and their caregivers! 🎨

These once-monthly workshops will be held every first Tuesday from 11AM - 12PM at GROW HUB (2900 NE 8th Ave) 🌱

Offered in a socially inclusive setting, we’ll be making a different project each month that can be taken home at the end of class 🖼️

Eligibility criteria:
• Over 18 years of age
• Enthusiastic for art
• Living with a physical, developmental, intellectual, or emotional disability
• No history of aggressive behaviors
• Able to follow basic instructions with guidance

Guidelines:
• Caregivers may choose to assist and/or participate in the activity, or wait on site at Grow Hub depending on artist’s needs.
• No drop-offs.
• Liability waivers are required for participation.
• Participants who are inappropriate may be asked not to return based on the discretion of the instructors.

➡️ Pre-registration is required. Use the link below to register: https://artsinmedicine.ufhealth.org/programs/community-programs-2/visual-art/arts-in-medicine-at-grow-hub/

Questions? Email us at artsinmedicine@shands.ufl.edu 📧

01/12/2026

🌼📚 Welcome back, Gators — and happy start to the Spring 2026 semester! 🐊✨

We’re excited to reconnect with our students, colleagues, and community as we begin a new season of learning, creativity, and collaboration in the arts in medicine.

Here’s to a semester filled with curiosity, compassion, discovery, and meaningful work that strengthens wellbeing through the arts. We’re glad you’re here — let’s make it a great one! 💙

UF College of the Arts

01/09/2026

APPLICATIONS CLOSING TOMORROW 🚨

The UF Center for Arts in Medicine is seeking a visionary, collaborative arts in health scholar to join our faculty as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Arts in Health!

In this role, you will:
🎨 Lead an innovative, externally funded research or creative agenda with national and international reach
🖼️ Teach, mentor, and support undergraduate and graduate students across in-person, hybrid, and online environments
🩰 Design and deliver courses in areas such as arts in health practice, theory, and evaluation
🎹 Help advance work at the intersections of arts in health, public health, medical/health humanities, arts + AI, and related fields
🎭 Contribute to leadership, service, and shared governance within the Center, College, University, and broader field

We’re looking for candidates with:
🎶 A terminal degree (PhD, DMA, or equivalent) in arts in health, public health, arts therapy, humanities, or a related discipline
🏥 A strong record — or strong potential — in research, creative scholarship, and external funding
📚 Experience teaching and mentoring at the undergraduate and/or graduate level
🥁 A commitment to interdisciplinarity and innovation in arts in health
🫟 Strong communication skills and the ability to work across disciplines

Join us in shaping the future of arts in health — advancing scholarship, strengthening communities, and inspiring the next generation of leaders.

🔗 Learn more & apply here: https://explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/537330/assistant-professor-in-arts-in-health
📅 Applications close January 10th.

UF College of the Arts, UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine

01/08/2026

🧠✨ New research shows creativity isn’t just good for the soul — it may play an important role in keeping the brain healthier and more resilient over time!

A new analysis from the Jameel Arts & Health Lab found that people with creative expertise showed a younger brain profile than non-experts, using advanced “brain clock” models to measure brain age.

Even more compelling, brain regions most vulnerable to aging showed stronger connectivity linked to creative engagement, suggesting the arts may support brain efficiency, adaptability, and long-term cognitive health. 🎨🎶🕺

Whether you’re creating art, making music, dancing, or learning a new creative skill, these findings point to the powerful connection between creativity and brain health.

Read the full study ➡️ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64173-9

01/07/2026

✨🌟 Hello, 2026! 🌟✨

As we turn the page on an inspiring year, we’re grateful for the passion, creativity, and commitment of our Center for Arts in Medicine community throughout 2025. Your collaborations, curiosity, and care continue to shape meaningful change through the arts.

Looking ahead to 2026, we’re excited to deepen our work, spark new partnerships, and explore innovative ways the arts can support healing, learning, and belonging across communities.

Here’s to a new year of creativity, connection, and possibility! 💙🐊

UF College of the Arts