Arts & Intersections Funder Collaborative

Arts & Intersections Working Group meetings provide an ongoing look at the intersection of the arts and social justice, environmental justice, community health, youth development, and equitable workforce development.

The Arts & Health research field has been well established in the United States for more than 40 years. Centers for arts and medicine/health exist at some of the worlds leading research institutions, including Johns Hopkins, Duke University, University of Florida, and UCLA. Researchers at Harvard, World Health Organization, and beyond have made clear that engagement in the arts can improve patients’ mental health outcomes.

During this meeting of the Arts & Intersections Funder Collaborative, we will be joined by Chris Appleton from Art Pharmacy, a healthcare technology company solving America’s mental health crisis. Chris will lead a conversation about his work the field of “social prescription” and the impacts of arts and culture on mental/behavioral health outcomes. We also be joined by Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director of Mass Cultural Council.

Target Audience

Arts & Intersections is a gathering place for funders working directly in arts and culture as well as those whose work intersects with the myriad needs of the broader creative economy. If you are interested in attending this program, please contact Kamaal Martin via email at [email protected].

Speakers

Chris Appleton, Founder and CEO, Art Pharmacy

Chris Appleton is the Founder and CEO of Art Pharmacy, a healthcare technology company solving America’s mental health crisis. Appleton’s vision for Art Pharmacy imagines the U.S. healthcare ecosystem adopting arts-based social prescribing as a critical part of an impact-driven mental health field. At the heart of Chris’s life’s work, he believes that lasting, sustainable change happens when people work across boundaries and barriers. Appleton and his wife, Annie, who works for Sartain Lanier Family Foundation, live in Atlanta with their two young children.

Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director, Mass Cultural Council

Michael J. Bobbitt is a distinguished theater artist. He currently serves as the Executive Director of Mass Cultural Council; in this capacity he serves as the highest-ranking public official in Massachusetts state government focused on arts and culture. Since 2021 he has led the Council through various initiatives, including the development of its first racial equity plan, securing and distributing $60.1 million in pandemic relief funding, and drafting a strategic plan for fiscal years 2024-2026.