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Division of Academic and Student Affairs
Arts NC State
A heart is chalked onto bricks at Wolf Plaza during a wellness event. Photo by Marc Hall

Arts + Wellness Initiative

Impact your wellness through the arts

The arts are intrinsically good for our overall wellness. From lowering cortisol levels and engaging the parasympathetic nervous system*, to making us put down our phones and be fully present–the visual and performing arts can serve as social and emotional medicine.

Arts NC State is on a mission to unite mental and physical health with creative expression and arts engagement. The arts impact wellness by encouraging reflection, critical inquiry, empathy and dialogue.

Arts + Wellness Events

Exhibits | Concerts | Crafts | Outdoor Fun
Mindfulness & Meditation | Community Building

Arts + Wellness Events

Signature Launch Events

We launched the Arts + Wellness initiative with several signature events, April 10-13, 2025.

  • Your Brain on Art exhibit

    Mar. 20-Sept. 27 – Explore the Gregg Museum’s collection through the lens of Neuro-arts. Immerse yourself in meditation, drawing and sound activities while viewing artworks that punctuate the impact of art on sensory experiences and holistic well-being. ATTEND>

  • Arts + Wellness Fair,
    during LIVE@Lake Raleigh

    April 10 – A free outdoor concert featuring Ricardo Diquez & The Tropic Orchestra. Enjoy Arts + Wellness activities and talk with campus resource representatives.

  • Connecting Through
    Creativity & Conversation

    April 11 – Craft your own vision board around the topic, “Imagine alternative futures: Speculative thinking and creative brainstorming through art.”

  • Pre-Concert Arts + Wellness Fair

    April 13 – Ahead of the Raleigh Civic Symphony Orchestra concert, engage with wellness activities including the Crafts Center’s My Intent Project, a participatory drum circle with Drum for Change, paint therapy, vision boarding and more.

  • Hymns of Hope and Healing: Raleigh Civic Symphony Orchestra concert

    April 13 – A moving concert centered on the powerful ways that art seeks at once to understand and to heal ourselves, our communities, and our world.

Did you know?*

Museum visits have been prescribed by doctors to decrease loneliness and increase cognitive skills.

Performing arts such as singing can increase perspective taking and engage your nervous system to make you feel good.

One or more art experiences per month can extend your life by up to 10 years.

Arts + Wellness Resources

Read more about arts + mental wellness

  • Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross, a groundbreaking work reshaping the realms of neuroscience and the arts.

Resources for the Wolfpack Community

Lighten your pack! From physical and emotional health to financial wellness and community-building, there is support available for NC State’s community at wellness.ncsu.edu.

Thank you to our partners!

A big shoutout to Campus Health for their help in coordinating the Arts + Wellness Resource Fairs!

*Source: Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross