The Healing Arts. Encounters in Arts and Medicine
Moderation by Lukas Feireiss
Lecture series, English/German, 1 SWS, 1 ECTS
Wednesdays, 18-20 h, 5 dates: 21.5., 4.6., 18.6., 2.7., 9.7.2025 (deviating from the rhythm!)
Location: Paul-Ehrlich-Hörsaal, Virchowweg 4, Campus Charité Mitte

Registration to Prof. med. Anne Berghöfer, anne.berghoefer_ @charite.de

Over the last two decades, research into the effects of the arts on health and well-being has grown significantly. According to the World Health Organization, the arts can play a vital role in preventing ill health, supporting recovery, and fostering resilience across the life span. Engaging in creative practices – whether actively or through reception – has been shown to meaningfully enhance physical, emotional, and social well-being.
Building on the success of the previous edition initiated by curator and educator Lukas Feireiss, the Healing Arts lecture series continues this semester as a joint initiative of the International Society for Arts and Medicine (ISfAM) and the Arts and Medicine Network at the Charité in collaboration with the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK). This semester, the program further expands the interdisciplinary dialogue between art and medicine – exploring how diverse practices, experiences, and cosmologies shape our understanding of healing.
In five curated sessions moderated by Lukas Feireiss,, the series engages with perspectives from neuroscience, ethnomedicine, gender studies, performance, and planetary health. It asks: How can artistic and scientific approaches together open new paths for transformation? What knowledge emerges when care becomes a method and the body becomes a site of inquiry? What does it mean to heal – individually, collectively, ecologically?
The Healing Arts series continues to break down disciplinary boundaries and foster dialogue across universities and fields. Open to students and professionals from the arts, medicine, science and beyond and everyone interested in the topic, the public lecture series invites shared reflection on the future of care, health, and cultural practice.

Speakers:
21.05.25: Prof. Dr. Friederike Kendel + tdb
04.06.25: Prof. Dr. Benno Brinkhaus + Cristina Bucardo
18.06.25: Dr. Lily Martin and Prof. Dr. Kerstin Schoch + Maryna Makarenko
02.07.25: Dr. Hannah Strohmeier + Dan Miller
09.07.25: Dr. Sasha Bergstrom-Katz + Dr. Michele Luchetti

Requirements for receiving ungraded Studium Generale credit point (1 ECTS): Regular attendance and individual written reflections for each of the five sessions as well as one final written reflection (based on the lecture series as a whole) are mandatory.