COVID-19 NeuroArts Field Guide
Even before the pandemic, many of us engaged in art making or art appreciation to help us feel happier and healthier. Some of us draw, sing, dance or write. Others listen to our favorite music or story to feel a sense of calm.
In response to many requests about ways the arts can help us during the pandemic, IAM Lab has created the COVID-19 NeuroArts Field Guide. It offers easy-to-do art activities and simple explanations about the science behind them.
From stress and anxiety to loneliness and loss, we hope these evidence-based arts ideas help you and your family find new and joyful ways to cope and feel better during this unpredictable time.
2020 in Review: How the Arts Impacted Our Health
As the world struggled to contain the coronavirus, the arts could not be stopped. A cascade of creativity outbreaks emerged after pandemic restrictions like stay-at-home orders took effect. Was this unconscious return to the arts highlighting something essential to our collective wellbeing? Read on to see how the arts impacted our health and wellbeing in a year for the history books, 2020.
NeuroArts Tips
The Role of Community Arts in Trauma Recovery
The United States has experienced numerous tragedies in the past year, from the devastating wildfires in Maui to mass shootings in schools and places of worship. Such events are associated
How Dance Can Relieve Stress and Help Us Reconnect With Community During COVID-19
As mental health issues increased in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in art-making has also expanded — offering ways for us to creatively cope with the new
Boosting Vaccine Confidence With the Arts
The rapid development of safe and effective vaccines against the novel coronavirus is a remarkable feat of scientific achievement. And it’s our best shot for getting through a global pandemic.
The Arts Are the Reset Button Students Need This School Year
Around this time last year, many parents, teachers, and students ventured into the great unknown—a year of remote or hybrid learning. We fretted about learning losses from the disruptive lockdowns
More Than Words: Why Poetry is Good for Our Health
“Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true: That even as we grieved, we grew That even as we hurt, we hoped That even as we tired, we
The Art of Nostalgia: Using the Past for Relief in the Present Pandemic
When the pandemic put me in lockdown, I decided to make use of extra time at home by sorting through boxes of memorabilia in my closet. My goal: throw stuff
How Video Games Can Be a Healthy Escape During Lockdown
In the middle of lockdown, I was on an island fishing with my girlfriend. After selling our catch at the local store, we took an impromptu date to the museum
Arts in the Aftermath: Helping Kids Heal From Natural Disasters
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, natural disasters have further compounded the disruption to the lives of families and children across the United States. During one of the worst
Why Arts Education Matters in the Age of COVID-19
When class resumed the day after Labor Day for Jazz Dance Level I at Towson University’s Community Dance Center, no children filled the room, stretching in front of the floor-to-ceiling
The Art of Coping with Survivor’s Guilt
Losing a loved one is one of the most tragic experiences we can go through, an experience that has become all too common during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting grief
Just Dance: A Prescription for Mental Wellbeing
In a village on the east coast of China, a farming couple and their “rural-style shuffle dance” has gone viral on TikTok. Their dancing is joyful and upbeat, sometimes taking
PTSD and the Arts: A Path to Healing Our Healers
More than two months into the pandemic, experts are raising concerns over the long-term mental health implications for healthcare and other frontline workers. Behind the hospital ward weddings, standing ovations
Why a Dose of Nature Is Essential to Your Mental Health
When was the last time you went out and soaked up some nature? Even in pre-pandemic times, most American adults spent 93% of their time indoors. Now, with social distancing
5 Weekend Art Activities to Bust Quarantine Fatigue
Lockdowns are easing in some areas of the world, but large public gatherings and trips to a museum, library or concert are mostly off-limits. Still, you can get your daily
Can the Arts Help Us Heal Our Grief?
While the COVID-19 pandemic has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide, there is no running tally of the millions left behind to grieve for their loved ones. The
Worried About Closed Schools and Learning Loss? The Arts Can Help
Typically at this time of year, we start to hear and read news stories about the dreaded “summer brain drain” or “summer slide” for students. What exactly is sliding and
How Art Brings Humanity and Healing to the Patient’s Bedside
Healthcare professionals are under extreme pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is putting their medical training and resourcefulness to the test daily. Many are going above and beyond the
Why Is Everyone Baking and Gardening Under Lockdown?
It’s not just out of boredom. In the midst of the pandemic, many have found themselves gravitating to their kitchens, gardens or knitting needles. In fact, so many people have
Feeling Frazzled Working from Home? These Design Tweaks Can Help Your Brain
Remember when working from home was a big perk? In search of a more balanced life, the number of people working from home has been steadily rising for decades. Some
How Giving Back Artfully Can Give Your Teen a Boost
The teen years. They’re a rollercoaster of changes that come fast and furious as the brain and body struggles to adapt to a new world order. Sound familiar? Even for
How Listening to Music May Ease Traumatic Stress
When our lives are disrupted by the stress of a traumatic experience, like the pandemic, our mental health can be compromised. The constant disruption in our routines, the possibility or
How Students Can Use Expressive Writing to Navigate Uncertainty
It’s a tough time to be a senior, whether you’re in the golden years of life or just trying to graduate from high school or college. Students are missing out
Can a Jam Session Help Healthcare Workers Battle Burnout?
The COVID-19 pandemic has strained the entire healthcare system and the first responders treating those who fall ill. Even before the outbreak, half of all doctors and a third of
Let’s Get Physical: Dancing to Support Family Fitness at Home
Millions of families are adjusting to a new normal of stay-at-home life. COVID-19 has changed how we learn and work and interrupted our routines for recreation and leisure time, too.
A Global Call to Art
The latest ideas from around the world on how to stay home, stay healthy and make the most of the arts for wellbeing
POETRY
Listen to Wide Angle Youth Media’s rendition and response to Amanda Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb”
CRAFT
Add your origami art to The Lotus Effect, The Rubin’s public art installation symbolizing gratitude and resilience
WRITING
Help write the longest letter in the world to fight loneliness with Dear Loneliness
POETRY
Read and reflect on the reverse poem “Social Distancing” by Hopkins medical student Howard Chang
STORYTELLING
Read the crowd-sourced story of one day of COVID-19 in Cleveland
VISUAL ARTS
See how Bedside Education in the Art of Medicine (BEAM) provides visual art and poetry to patients at Johns Hopkins
See All Global Call to Art Entries >
