Renée Fleming Foundation and NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative announce second round of grant applications to encourage collaborative Neuroarts research between early career scientists and art practitioners
The NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative is now accepting applications for the 2025 Renée Fleming NeuroArts Investigator Awards. The awards program, established and supported by the Renée Fleming Foundation, provides funding and mentorship to early career scholars and arts practitioners working in the field of neuroarts, which focuses on understanding how the arts and aesthetic experiences measurably impact the brain, body, and behavior, with the goal of using this knowledge to enhance health and well-being.
The purpose of the program is three-fold, with each goal critical for building the field of neuroarts:
- Provide seed funding for early career researchers and arts practitioners to collaborate on innovative neuroarts research.
- Identify and fill key gaps in neuroarts research.
- Develop and support a new generation of neuroarts professionals.
Interdisciplinary teams may apply for only one grant up to $25,000.00. Administered by the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative, applicants are invited to submit proposals by February 1, 2025. Proposals will be reviewed by an independent review committee led by playwright, Anna Deavere Smith and neuroscientist, Eric Nestler. Final award decisions will be made on April 15, 2025. Additional information about the awards program and application process can be found by visiting our website.
A webinar to summarize the Investigator Awards and respond to questions about the application process will be held on December 5, 2024.
“Inspired by the innovative thinking of the next generation of scientific researchers and arts practitioners, we have increased the amount available for the Renée Fleming NeuroArts Investigator Awards,” said Renée Fleming, acclaimed soprano, NeuroArts Blueprint co-chair, and World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health. “These awards aim to foster inquiry and partnership between early career scientists and artists, nurturing the imaginative spirit and advancing the potential of the neuroarts field.”
The Renée Fleming NeuroArts Investigator Awards align with the recommendations outlined in the groundbreaking 2021 report, The NeuroArts Blueprint: Advancing the Science of Arts, Health, and Wellbeing, produced by the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative. The Initiative is a collaborative effort between the International Arts and Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics (IAM) at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Health, Medicine, and Society program at the Aspen Institute, amplifying the intersection of the arts and sciences to advance health and well-being.
The Initiative seeks to establish neuroarts as a recognized field by advancing research and evidence-based arts practices, establishing educational pathways, identifying funding sources, and advocating relevant public policy. The awards program serves as a catalyst for implementing these recommendations and fostering the next generation of neuroarts researchers.
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About Renée Fleming and the Renée Fleming Foundation
Renée Fleming is one of the most highly acclaimed singers of our time, honored with five Grammy® awards and the US National Medal of Arts. A 2023 Kennedy Center Honoree, she is the co-chair of the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative, and a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health. As a leading advocate for research spanning arts, health, and neuroscience, Fleming launched the first ongoing collaboration between The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the NEA, and the NIH, and she has presented her program Music and Mind around the world. In April, Viking Penguin Random House published her anthology Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness. Her other awards include the 2023 Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum, the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal, and honorary doctorates from ten leading universities. The Renée Fleming Foundation is committed to helping to build the future of music and health research, as well as nurturing emerging artists, through targeted projects and support of recognized organizations doing this crucial work. The Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
About the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative
The NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative is a partnership between the Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics (IAM Lab) and the Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine and Society (HMS) Program. Co-directed by Susan Magsamen, MAS, executive director of IAM Lab, and Ruth J. Katz, JD, MPH, executive director of the HMS Program, the Initiative bridges the gap between the arts and sciences to advance health and wellbeing by promoting innovative research, developing evidence-based practices, and raising public awareness of the arts’ potential to enhance health.
About the International Arts + Mind Lab
The International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab) Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics (IAM Lab) is located in at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Its mission is to amplify human potential through the arts and aesthetic experiences. IAM Lab brings together researchers and practitioners across a range of disciplines and art modalities through research, education and outreach, field building and community expansion. It is pioneering Impact Thinking, a translational research approach designed to address intractable problems in health, wellbeing, and learning through the arts. IAM Lab aims to accelerate the science of neuroaesthetics and the emerging field of neuroarts and empower humankind to realize the full potential of the arts to help us heal, grow, and flourish.
About the Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. The Health, Medicine & Society Program at the Aspen Institute brings together influential groups of thought leaders, decision-makers, and the informed public to consider health challenges facing the US in the 21st century and to identify practical solutions for addressing them.