LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Whether we watch movies to relax or listen to upbeat music to perk up, the arts impact us in many ways, and now, one organization seeks to bridge the gaps between the arts and our mental and physical well-being.

Saturday marked the LexArts Arts and Health Symposium, an event in partnership with the Arts and Health Alliance of Central Kentucky.

Nathan Zamarron, vice president of LexArts, said these events help explore how the arts can play a role in health care.

“There’s a ton of research on how effective the arts are in meeting health care needs and just creating a healing environment, but also in engaging people and helping us take our minds off the stress of what you’re going through and get things out. it’s sometimes hard to express in words,” Zamarron said.

The symposium highlights different topics such as the benefits of art therapy for people with cognitive disabilities and how art can heal us after a disaster.

Resources were also present at Saturday’s event, such as New Vista, which understands the role art can play on our mental well-being.

“We created these coloring sheets. It’s a way to get all kinds of emotions out, to talk about them or just feel them on the page, and I think it’s a really good way to express yourself. Just getting outside and participating in the arts helps with mental health and makes you feel a little less alone in the world,” said Whitney Sampson, New Vista Community Outreach Specialist.

Attendee Claudia Love Mair said she was excited to see the impact the symposium had on the Lexington community.

“That’s what we all need right now, that we are all artists, that we can all use the arts to express ourselves and that in that expression it heals us,” Mair said.

Zamarron said LexArts will host similar events like this throughout 2025.

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