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May 20

Who Needs Art: A Thought Leadership Summit

Join us for the Third Annual ArtsKC Thought Leadership Summit, where leaders from across sectors convene to advance arts and health initiatives. You’ll hear from local and national exemplars who are leading innovation at the intersection of art, health, mental health, and well-being.

This innovative initiative fosters cross-sector collaboration to examine the transformative power of arts-integrated practices. The summit aims to advance understanding and dialogue around art and health to drive policy, elevate leadership, and prompt change in a measurable, equitable, and lasting manner.

BEST Conference Center
12600 Quivira Rd, Overland Park, KS 66213
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May 20, 2025 12:00pm

Free

Please RSVP by end of day on Sunday, May 18th!

Coalition Luncheon Meeting

11:30, Check In

12pm - 1:45 pm, Lunch and Keynote Speaker


Keynote Speaker: Nicole Morgan, Research Manager - University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine, and One Nation One Project


Program Evaluation and Research Methods in Arts and Health: This session will provide a practical introduction to evaluation and research methods in arts in health. It explores the distinctions between evaluation and research, foundational concepts like ontology and epistemology, and offers guidance on ethical oversight, mixed methods, and arts-based inquiry for designing meaningful, impactful, and responsible assessments.


1:45pm - 2pm, Break


Thought Leadership Summit

2pm - 4pm


Expert Presenters

Dana Knapp, President and CEO, ArtsKC & Susan Magsamen, Founder and Executive Director, International Arts + Mind Lab | Welcome and Introduction


Nicole Morgan, MA, Research Manager at University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine | One Nation/One Project’s Arts for Everybody Findings


Sherri Jacobs, MS, LCMFT, MA, ATR | What Matters to You? 


Vanessa Cooksey | Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis Arts + Health Initiatives


Katie Brewer MS, LPC, ATR-BC & Shelbi Polaski L MT-BC | Children's Mercy Creative Arts Therapy 


Beth Christensen, Andrea Dalton, Amy Robertson, Karen Hsiao Savage, Seungchan Song | Healing and Harmony Concert Series


Reception 

4pm - 4:50pm


Mix & Mingle + Performance by Beth Christensen and Seungchan Song


Accessibility Pledge

ArtsKC is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible event. If you need reasonable accommodation, please contact Carter Bryant at cbryant@artskc.org with the subject line, "Thought Leadership - Accommodation Request". All requests must be made by Thursday, May 15. We will attempt to implement late requests but cannot guarantee they will be met.


Parking

Guests can park in ‘Lot B’ off 125th Street. CLICK HERE for a map.