Rutgers School of Nursing Brings Arts and Health to Life, Supporting Well-Being and Resilience in Future Nurses
October 1, 2026
Partnership with Mason Gross School of the Arts brings music, creativity, and reflection into nursing education as part of Rutgers’ growing Arts in Health initiative
For nurses, caring for others begins with caring for themselves. Rutgers School of Nursing is helping bring that principle to life through its partnership with the Mason Gross School of the Arts and the university’s growing Arts in Health initiative, which explores how creative engagement can support health, well-being and resilience.
The collaboration brings together the arts and nursing to create new opportunities for students to experience the connection between creativity, health, and human connection. On Sept. 23, the School of Nursing in Newark hosted a Well-Being Concert created in partnership with the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall. The program featured Philadelphia cellist Arlen Hlusko and was hosted by artist, neuroscientist and psychiatrist AZA Allsop of Yale University.
“One of the most exciting things we’re doing is bringing our competencies in personal health, well-being and resilience to life through partnerships in Arts and Health,” said Angela Starkweather, dean and professor at Rutgers School of Nursing.
“We know nurses spend their careers caring for others, but they also need practices that help sustain them,” Starkweather said. “Through music, creativity, reflection and connection, we’re helping students build resilience and reminding them that nursing is both a science and an art.”
The Well-Being Concert is part of a broader Arts in Health initiative led by Ian Koebner, inaugural chair and endowed professor of Arts in Health at the Mason Gross School of the Arts. The initiative seeks to position Rutgers as a leader in exploring the relationship between artistic engagement and health and well-being. Koebner’s position was made possible by an $8.8 million anonymous bequest, the largest gift in Mason Gross’ history.
John Munson / Rutgers University
Research increasingly points to connections between engagement with arts and culture and physical, mental and social well-being. At Rutgers, interdisciplinary efforts are expanding opportunities to study and apply those connections through student well-being, research, education and public programming.
For nursing students, that work is particularly relevant. Nursing is a profession grounded in scientific knowledge and evidence-based practice, while also requiring empathy, connection, reflection, and an understanding of the whole person. Rutgers School of Nursing’s mission recognizes nursing as both a science and an art, with nurses playing a vital role in advancing health and well-being across individuals, families, communities, and populations.
“By integrating well-being into the educational experience, we have an opportunity to prepare nurses not only to provide exceptional care, but also to develop the practices and resilience they need throughout their careers,” Starkweather said.
The Arts in Health initiative builds several years of collaboration across Rutgers. The Arts in Health Research Lab, launched in 2023 through a partnership among Mason Gross, the Rutgers School of Public Health and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, supports interdisciplinary research examining the relationships among arts, health and well-being. Educational opportunities include Introduction to Arts in Health, a three-credit course open to Rutgers students across the university and included in the undergraduate minor in holistic wellness.
Additional programming includes Well-Being Concerts developed with Carnegie Hall, a Distinguished Residency Program that brings artists, scientists and curators into sustained engagement with the Rutgers community, and Composing Health, which engages Rutgers faculty and students in creating and curating sound for health care environments.
The collaboration also creates opportunities to consider how arts-based approaches could be incorporated into nursing education, clinical environments, and professional practice.
“We look forward to discussion on how to create more opportunities to integrate well-being in our classrooms, clinical settings, places of work and in our daily habits,” Starkweather said.
For Rutgers School of Nursing, the work reflects a broader commitment to preparing nurses for the realities of a demanding profession while advancing innovative approaches to health and well-being. By connecting nursing science with creativity, reflection and human connection, the School of Nursing is helping explore new ways to support the people who care for others.