Music has long been recognized for its ability to bring people together. But can its healing powers help to suture the divides wrought by pandemic distancing and growing social unrest? The Silkroad Ensemble shows us the possibilities even in the midst of the most challenging circumstances. This award-winning team of virtuosos has met the challenges […]

As we inch closer to Election Day 2020 in the United States and the COVID-19 pandemic makes voting in person a risky endeavor, today’s visual artists are galvanizing people across the country to cast their ballots. During the last presidential election, in 2016, nearly half of the voting-age population in the US didn’t vote. This […]

By IAM Lab Contributor Hannah L. Drake Editor’s Note: Hannah L. Drake is a writer, spoken word artist-activist and cultural strategist at Ideas xLab in Louisville, Kentucky. Her work focuses on the intersection of arts, culture and health with an emphasis on the impact of race and injustice in underserved communities. In 2017, the National […]

For better or worse, the spaces we inhabit shape the contours of our lives. But for many racial minorities, these spaces literally embody the systemic inequity and racism they face. People of color have higher rates of chronic medical conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease.  Individuals from underserved communities are also more likely […]

Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, a community planning expert and institute professor at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions at Arizona State University, shares her vision for integrating arts and culture into placemaking as a way to reckon with racial trauma and restore dignity […]

It is difficult to separate the work of the students at Wide Angle Youth Media from the city they call home. Baltimore is, by many measures, an epicenter of racial inequity. With neighborhoods clearly segregated by race and class, the city is still defined by redlining and housing discrimination nearly 60 years after the Civil […]

By IAM Lab Guest Contributor David Olawuyi Fakunle, Ph.D. Every story has essential elements: plot, characters, settings, themes and the overall message. A lot of times, what makes a story effective isn’t any of these things but rather the moment in which the story is told. The story of George Floyd’s murder was no different […]

Art has always been a reflection of and response to the world around us. It’s also a way of envisioning what is possible and what is just. We have seen art-making on the front lines of the current uprising, with people around the world using art to call out racism, end police brutality and fight […]

The arts are a powerful way of responding to and addressing inequity and injustice.  As part of IAM Lab’s series exploring Arts for Health Equity and Social Justice, we are sharing art here —songs, signs, dancing, murals, poetry and more—and urging readers to join us in spending time with it, learning from it and taking […]