Hong Kong Global Arts & Health Festival 2026 hits milestone

Hong Kong Baptist University hosted over 20 interactive living-lab workshops and action research sessions today as part of the third day of the Hong Kong Global Arts & Health Festival 2026. 

The hands-on sessions at HKBU's Jockey Club Campus of Creativity spanned music psychotherapy, focusing-oriented expressive arts, trauma-informed somatic movement, UK Sesame drama therapy, and brainwave-responsive art technology. 

Today's programming also featured a pre-recorded global keynote by Daisy Fancourt—Professor at University College London, Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health, and UNESCO Chair in Arts and Global Health—who synthesized findings from thousands of worldwide studies demonstrating that cultural engagement acted as a biologically and socially potent core health behavior. 

These immersive workshops formed a core component of the broader five-day festival, which officially opened on Tuesday and will run through Saturday.

Organized by the Global South Arts and Health Initiative (GSAH) and the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship, with HKBU's School of Creative Arts as Academic Partner, the historic event served as Asia’s first high-level international gathering dedicated to embedding creative health and social prescribing into healthcare systems and public policy. 

Over the course of the week, the festival gathered more than 100 international scholars, healthcare pioneers, corporate executives, and civic leaders across Hong Kong. 

Translating Global Evidence into Local Healthcare Practice 

The festival kicked off earlier in the week with keynotes delivered by leading international experts. 

Bogdan Chiva Giurca, Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Social Prescribing Policy and Development, detailed how primary care physicians could address social and emotional determinants of illness by connecting patients directly to community-based cultural assets. 
 

Meanwhile, Karen Mak, Senior Research Fellow at University College London, presented epidemiological evidence showing that regular artistic engagement functioned as a preventive health behavior across all life stages—from supporting childhood emotional regulation to preserving cognitive function in healthy aging. 

Local leaders emphasized Hong Kong's emerging role as a regional hub for creative health. 

Festival Co-Chair Kunle Adewale noted that this fourth international convening of the GSAH initiative firmly positioned Hong Kong as a pioneer in Asia. 

Local Co-Chair Ian Mok highlighted that bringing the milestone gathering to Hong Kong allowed stakeholders to translate global research into impactful local practice, laying the foundation for lasting cross-sector collaboration across the Greater Bay Area. 

Officiating guests at the opening included West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Chairman Bernard Charnwut Chan and HKBU Dean of Creative Arts Johnny Poon Ming-lun. 

 

Upcoming Cultural Trail and Closing Ceremonies 

Day 4 activities took place across the West Kowloon Cultural District and Central, featuring an immersive "Slow Looking Tour" and healthy aging research sessions at M+, alongside a special lecture series titled "Integrating Art and Health: Art for Patients and Art by Patients" by international authorities Tim Shaw MBE and Ted Meyer at the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

The formal proceedings concluded with a private museum exploration and official closing ceremony at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, followed by an unprogrammed "Well-Being Day" on Saturday for participants to experience the city's cultural heritage.  

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓