The performing, creative, and healing arts are vital for societal and individual wellbeing, health promotion, social cohesion, and positive social change. Yet in South Africa, artists’ health and wellbeing are seldom considered, marginally researched, and poorly resourced, despite high prevalence of artists’ mental and physical occupational health disorders. There is also a need to bolster the social impact of the arts; advance arts-for-health and arts-science research; build context-relevant capacity in the therapeutic creative arts, as well as in arts in health and community arts practices. While expertise and research exist in isolated specialities, coordinated and integrated translational research across health, arts, and performance is lacking.

HAPI will synergise, connect, support, and develop transdisciplinary research, applications, and interventions for health promotion in and through the performing and creative arts. The core value, health in the arts for health of the nation, underscores four underpinning domains:

• Health and wellbeing in the creative and performing arts
• Performance science
• Health promotion through the arts
• Medical and health humanities

Core members

Dr. Bridget Rennie-Salonen (HAPI lead)

Prof. Mario Nell

Prof. Kathryn Smith

Dr. Karolien Perold-Bull

Ms. Amelda Brand

Dr. Susan de Klerk 

Marlize Swanepoel

Uné Conradie

Mariam Salie

Faculty / School / Department / Institution represented

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Department of Music

Department of Visual Arts

Department of Drama

Department of Psychology

Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

Department of Exercise, Sport, and Lifestyle Medicine

Department of Health Rehabilitation Sciences

Spieel Arts Therapies Collective