As a member of the Neuroarts Academic Network, FAU will amplify its ongoing efforts at the intersection of neuroscience, healing and the arts.

Florida Atlantic University has joined the newly launched Neuroarts Academic Network (NAN), recently announced by the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative. NAN is a global initiative aimed at expanding the transformative power of the arts – such as music, dance, painting and storytelling – by building the emerging interdisciplinary field of neuroarts and training the next generation of leaders.

Building on research that demonstrates how art positively affects the brain and body, NAN will explore how creative expression can be embedded in mainstream medicine, public health and across society to improve health and well-being for all.

FAU will help lead this groundbreaking global movement to harness the power of aesthetic experiences to enhance brain health and transform care across disciplines. FAU is one of only two universities in Florida – and one of more than 35 institutions worldwide – selected to join the network’s initial working group.

“This is a significant step for Florida Atlantic University and for the emerging field of neuroarts,” said Randy Blakely, Ph.D., FAU designated official for NAN, executive director of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, the David J.S. Nicholson Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience, and a professor of biomedical science in the FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine. “Building on the momentum of the NeuroArts Blueprint, joining NAN recognizes FAU for its commitment to programs to unite the arts with brain science and medicine. This commitment not only recognizes a growing movement but also opens a door to transformative research opportunities – particularly in understanding how aesthetic experience can impact brain health. We are proud to help shape a future where creativity and science work hand in hand to improve lives.”

Blakely will lead the initiative in close collaboration with Nicole Baganz, Ph.D., director of community engagement and programming, FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, and academic collaborators across FAU and the broader community through the Program in Artistic Resilience, a key component of the soon to be launched FAU Center for the Resilient Mind.

“The arts are not merely expressions of human experience – they are powerful tools for healing and neurobiological integration,” said Michael Horswell, Ph.D., dean of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, who will partner with Blakely to develop the Program in Artistic Resilience. “Decades of research demonstrate that engaging with the arts stimulates complex brain networks involved in emotion, memory and cognition. By joining this interdisciplinary network, we reaffirm our commitment to advancing scientific inquiry into how the arts promote both individual healing and the well-being of communities.”

The partnership with NAN is designed to amplify FAU’s ongoing efforts at the intersection of neuroscience, healing and the arts. One signature event in this activity will be the Insights VIII Exhibition, opening Feb. 20, 2026, at the FAU Ritter Art Gallery – a partnership with Horswell and Veronique Côté, Ph.D., director of FAU Galleries. The exhibit, part of the Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute’s annual Brainy Days celebration, features work generated by artists living with bipolar disorder, illuminating the role of creative expression in developing resilience, heightening public understanding, and combatting stigma.

As part of the NAN effort, the institute is also set to launch a pilot grant program to support innovative research at the crossroads of neuroscience and the arts – jump-starting collaborative projects that explore how creative disciplines such as music, dance, theater and the visual arts can influence brain function and health and support emotional well-being.

“At this formative stage, the generous seed funding from the Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute is critical to launching collaborative research in neuroarts,” said Michael R. Dobbs, M.D., the first endowed FairfaxWood Chair of Clinical Neurosciences, chair and professor of the Clinical Neurosciences Department and associate dean of clinical affairs in the Schmidt College of Medicine. “This support may prove truly transformative – advancing our understanding of how artistic expression can be harnessed to improve brain health, enhance therapeutic outcomes and open new frontiers in treatment.”

The NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative, which launched the NAN, is co-led by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics and the Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine & Society Program, with support from The Music Man Foundation. The initiative is co-directed by Susan Magsamen, executive director of the International Arts + Mind Lab at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Ruth J. Katz, executive director of the Health, Medicine & Society Program at the Aspen Institute.

“Neuroarts is a vibrant, interdisciplinary field grounded in evidence-based knowledge and united by shared research principles, practices and values. To fully realize its potential, we must learn from one another, develop a common language, and build a collaborative framework that enables our disciplines to flourish individually while also working together to build the field,” said Magsamen.

The network’s goal is to establish neuroarts as a rigorous academic and professional field that bridges arts, health, basic sciences, public policy and community engagement.

“In these challenging times of rapid change, the Neuroarts Academic Network offers a bold, collaborative model to strengthen neuroarts education, workforce development and interdisciplinary impact,” said Katz. “It is essential to advancing this important and game-changing work.”

The Insights VIII exhibit, presented in partnership with the Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation, will run from Feb. 20 to March 6, 2026, and will feature more than 40 works selected from more than 200 national submissions. According to Blakely, several artists whose work will be displayed in the exhibit will be in attendance across the span of the exhibit with hopes of sharing insights into their process and goals for artistic expression.

“Our inclusion in the Neuroarts Academic Network reinforces our commitment to interdisciplinary innovation, public health impact, and the belief that science and the arts have much to inform the other along the road to human vitality,” said Blakely.

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