Arts-in-Medicine at The University of New mexico

Mission

To transform the medical environment and the lives of the people therein by facilitating creative and artistic encounters for patients and their caregivers.

Goals

One-on-one with patients, their families, and medical professionals

• To encourage participants to stop, examine, and transform the quality of their lives;
• To provide opportunities to express painful and/or suppressed feelings;
• To co-create new perspectives on and increased meaning in life;
• To facilitate positive experiences and heightened self-esteem;
• To stimulate spiritual expression and;
• To relieve pain, discomfort, anxiety, restlessness, respiratory difficulties, insomnia, isolation, depression, withdrawal, loss of speech, grief, and anticipatory grief.

For the community-at-large

• To expand awareness and stimulate dialogue regarding the nature of health and healthcare, death and dying;
• To contribute to the UNM Health Science Center’s (UNMHSC) role as an international leader and innovator in medical education;
• To provide new and meaningful opportunities for artists to contribute to society;
• To recognize and celebrate the cultural diversity of the community;
• To provide multiple opportunities for collaboration between community members and the academy;
• To build collegial and supportive relationships among faculty, students, and staff members of the UNMHSC community and;
• To build bridges between the main campus and the health science campus.