artsLAB: Meadows’ Creativity Meets Wellness in a Campus-Wide Collaboration
The Meadows Museum blends art, movement, and mindfulness in cross-campus wellness event, uniting multiple ҹɫÍõ³¯schools in an exploration of wellbeing through the arts.
Last week, the Meadows Museum opened its doors for artsLAB: Exploring the Mind, Body, & Heart Connection, a dynamic wellness experience designed exclusively for ҹɫÍõ³¯faculty, staff and students. The event brought together a remarkable coalition of partners across campus, featuring contributions from Meadows School of the Arts, Dedman College of Humanities & Sciences, the Dr. Bob Smith Health Center, ҹɫÍõ³¯Project Poëtica and ҹɫÍõ³¯Student Affairs.
Through movement, music, and conversation, artsLAB invited visitors to explore the powerful connections between creativity and wellbeing. The idea for this immersive event began with Carol Dickson-Carr, a professor of practice at Dedman, whose research and creative practice explore how purposeful play can promote wellness.
“I wanted a place where people could play, release some stress, and create to improve well-being mentally, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually,” said Dickson-Carr, who also was a guest speaker on one of the event’s panel discussions. “My research shows that purposeful play helps with all four of those domains.”
With encouragement and determination from collaborator Maria del Pilar Melgarejo, a fellow professor at Dedman, Dickson-Carr turned her vision into a cross-campus initiative that would unite different disciplines through artful expression. Support from ҹɫÍõ³¯Student Affairs helped make the concept a reality, and the Meadows Museum soon became a natural partner in bringing the event to life.
“At the museum, not only do we have programs that support learning about the art on view, but we also have programs in which people learn through the art on view,” says Anne Kindseth, Director of Education at the Meadows Museum. “We hope artsLAB participants saw the role visiting a museum can play in their own wellness. Museums are incredible places for stepping outside of daily routines and finding inspiration.”
And that emphasis on experiential learning through the arts was clear in every aspect of the event. Throughout the evening, artsLAB goers had the opportunity to experience a variety of wellness activities, from participating in “Music & Wellbeing” sessions led by students from Meadows’ music therapy program to enjoying “DanceWorks at the Museum,” a series of student-choreographed performances from the Division of Dance’s fall production.
In the galleries, the “Music & Wellbeing” sessions were designed to enable states of mindfulness through rhythm and sound. The music therapy students facilitated both energizing and calming musical experiences for guests, through active drumming and relaxing soundscapes, that highlight the impact of music on emotional and mental health. Meanwhile, the “DanceWorks” performances brought movement into the museum setting, turning the galleries themselves into spaces of embodied creativity.
At its heart, artsLAB exemplifies the spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration that defines ҹɫÍõ³¯and the Meadows School. By combining art, science, and human connection, the event reflects how SMU’s artistic community is able to bridge disciplines, inspire innovation and nurture wellbeing across campus.
“When we make time for play, reflection, and artful collaboration, we open space not just for personal renewal but for shared healing and joy that can ripple outward long after the evening ends,” explains Dickson-Carr. “We hope this event resonates with our community and can become an annual tradition at SMU—a celebration of creativity, wellness and connection that continues to grow each year.”