GRANTHealing Arts Singapore
Healing Arts Singapore (HASG) is Asia’s first country-level arts and health activation, bringing together artists, healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers to explore how creative practice can advance health and well-being. Co-led by the Jameel Arts & Health Lab (JA&HL),in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Centre for Music and Health at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, and the University of the Arts Singapore (UAS)’s Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), HASG aims to catalyse a long-term regional movement. ECCA is the Artist Engagement Partner, supporting local artists through training and opportunities to showcase their work.
Photo by National Gallery SingaporePhoto by National Gallery Singapore
Photo by Gateway ArtsPhoto by Gateway Arts
Photo by Maya Dance TheatrePhoto by Maya Dance Theatre
Photo by Xin Xiao ChangPhoto by Xin Xiao Chang
Photo by ECCAPhoto by ECCA
Challenge
Despite growing evidence of the health benefits of arts participation, the arts and health sectors in Asia continue to operate largely in silos – with different professional languages, different metrics, and different institutional structures. This misalignment makes genuine collaboration difficult and limits the ability of promising initiatives to reach the scale or policy recognition they deserve.
For artists working at the intersection of health and social impact, the barriers are especially acute. There are few structured pathways to develop skills in outcome measurement or policy engagement, and fewer still that connect local practitioners to regional and global networks. Without platforms that bridge practice and policy, innovative work risks remaining fragmented – visible within communities but invisible to the systems that could sustain and scale it.
Approach
HASG is structured around five days, each with a distinct focus: research, practice, community, policy, and synthesis. This progression is deliberate – grounding the week in evidence before moving through application and into lasting commitments.
ECCA’s role as Artist Engagement Partner centers on three pillars:
- Outreach and Visibility – The HASG week-long event convenes key stakeholders while spotlighting selected artists and their practices, building a shared public profile for arts and health work in the region.
- Training and Capacity Building – Led by UAS NAFA, artists gain skills in outcome measurement and policy engagement, equipping them to navigate and influence the health sector more confidently.
- Evaluation and Scalability – The Jameel Arts & Health Lab leads the evaluation of outcomes, identifying what works, what can be scaled, and how to build long-term sustainability.
