The Art of Healing: A Conversation with Renée Fleming and Susan Magsamen

As a part of our Art & Wellness Festival, join world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming and bestselling author and neuroaesthetics expert Susan Magsamen for an inspiring conversation at the intersection of art, science, and well-being.

Together, they’ll explore The Art of Healing—how creative practices can support mental and physical health, drawing from their groundbreaking work and personal experiences.

Following the event, you’re invited to stay for a book signing with both speakers.

Tickets are $25 ($20 for members), reserve your spot online or with Guest Experience at (479) 657-2335 today.

Renée Fleming

Renée Fleming is internationally celebrated for her vocal and dramatic artistry, as well as her dedicated advocacy for the powerful impacts of the creative arts in health. Honored with five GRAMMY® awards and the US National Medal of Arts, she has sung not only in the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls, but also for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Super Bowl. In 2023, the World Health Organization appointed her as a Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health.

Renée’s anthology Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness was published in 2024. She created a live program called Music and Mind, which she has presented in more than 70 cities around the world. She is now an advisor for major initiatives in this field, including the NeuroArts Blueprint at Johns Hopkins University. In 2024 she launched the Renée Fleming NeuroArts Investigator Awards, funding interdisciplinary research projects by early career scientists in collaboration with creative artists.

Her other honors include the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, Germany’s Cross of the Order of Merit, France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, and honorary doctorates from 10 major universities.

Susan Magsamen

Susan Magsamen is the founder and executive director of the International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab), Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics, a groundbreaking initiative at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and a faculty member in the Department of Neurology. Her work explores how the arts and aesthetic experiences measurably change the brain, body, and behavior—and how this knowledge can be applied to improve health, wellbeing, and learning across medicine, public health, and education.

In addition to her academic and research leadership, Susan is a successful entrepreneur who has founded award-winning arts education companies, including Curiosity Kits and Curiosityville, which have received over 600 awards for innovation and impact. She is also the author of seven books for children, families, and educators focused on the value of creativity and the arts in everyday life.

Susan developed Impact Thinking, an interdisciplinary translational research model designed to enhance human potential through the application of arts and aesthetics. This innovative framework introduces a rigorous scientific approach to the arts, focusing on how results can be scaled, disseminated, and evaluated to drive real-world change.

She also serves as co-director of the NeuroArts Blueprint, a joint initiative with Johns Hopkins University and the Aspen Institute that aims to embed the arts and aesthetics into the fabric of medicine, public health, and learning. The Blueprint lays out an evidence-based strategic pathway for building the field of neuroarts, grounded in evidence and shaped by global need and access.

Susan is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and a trusted advisor to leading organizations in neuroscience, psychology, education, and public health. She is deeply committed to amplifying creative youth voices, fostering programs that empower young people to use the arts to express their identities, build resilience, and engage meaningfully with their communities.

She is the co-author of the New York Times bestseller Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us.

Maya Adam

Maya Adam is a physician-scientist who serves as the Director of Health Media Innovation at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Adam’s research focuses on measuring the public impact of art, music and entertainment-education approaches to global health communication. She is the Faculty Lead for the Global Health Media Innovation Lab and Associate Director of the Center for Digital Health at Stanford. She received her MD from the University of British Columbia in Canada and her PhD from the Heidelberg University Institute of Global Health in Germany. Before studying medicine, Adam spent 10 years on stage as a professional ballet dancer.