UNCSA and the Kenan Institute for the Arts partner with Art Pharmacy to launch social prescribing program
Art Pharmacy, a health care services company, and UNCSA, in partnership with the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, announced today that UNCSA will become the first arts conservatory to join the Art
Pharmacy network. Beginning in fall 2025, UNCSA will offer students access to Art
Pharmacy’s social prescription program to support their well-being.
Art Pharmacy’s solution uniquely combines decades of research in the field of arts
and health with the care model of social prescribing, a model of care delivery that
enables health professionals to formally prescribe nonclinical community activities
— including the arts, movement, nature and service — to improve student health.
“We are proud to collaborate with the Kenan Institute for the Arts to offer Art Pharmacy’s
solution to UNCSA’s students and appreciate the university’s leadership in innovating
to address student mental health,” said Art Pharmacy Founder and CEO Chris Appleton.
“The social prescribing movement is growing throughout our country as anxiety, depression,
and suicidal ideation rates on college campuses are at an all-time high. Introducing
non-stigmatized, readily available mental health interventions is critical for institutional
partners looking to implement and scale social prescribing.”
Art Pharmacy reduces wait times and improves health outcomes for participating students through its tech-enabled, human-powered social prescribing solution. By working with the university’s campus partners in Student Health Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, and Student Success, the team will pursue the goal of improving student well-being and reducing the risk of crisis care.
Through Art Pharmacy at UNCSA, Student Affairs staff will receive training in social prescribing, a holistic approach that connects individuals to nonclinical resources that support mental health and well-being. The trained UNCSA staff will be able to refer college and graduate students to Art Pharmacy, where they will be matched with community-based arts experiences designed to reduce feelings of loneliness, anxiety and depression. Art Pharmacy, in partnership with the Kenan Institute for the Arts, is recruiting a wide range of local arts partners including museums, galleries, performance venues, etc., to offer opportunities that foster connection, creativity and healing.
“As the first arts conservatory to partner with Art Pharmacy, we’re excited to lead the way in integrating innovative, arts-based approaches to student support, underscoring our deep commitment to mental health and well-being at UNCSA,” said Vice Provost of Student Affairs Laurel Donley. “Through this partnership, we’re expanding what it means to support students in a conservatory setting. Our students have shared that they’re eager for more opportunities to step beyond the campus to engage with the broader community and explore experiences outside their disciplines. We’re thrilled to add this to Take5!, our comprehensive effort to encourage students to pause, reflect and care for themselves amid the demands of rigorous artistic training.”
“Our collaboration with Art Pharmacy and UNCSA reflects one of several strategic initiatives the Kenan Institute for the Arts is leading to prepare the next generation of artists for creative lives centered in wellness,” said Executive Director Kevin Bitterman of the Kenan Institute for the Arts. “Over the last three years, we have been working in partnership with a local and national network of cultural, public health, and municipal leaders to amplify the social and health benefits of the arts in the lives of everyone — including artists. At UNCSA and beyond, the Kenan Institute champions the transformative power of the arts while working to build a thriving, resilient cultural ecosystem.”
About the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts
The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts was established in 1993 to strengthen the arts by initiating and incubating new ideas within the various constituencies and settings of UNCSA. The Kenan Institute believes that artists and cultural organizations can contribute their creative ideas, visionary leadership and novel strategies to strengthen our culture, build businesses and generate innovative ideas. The Kenan Institute advances this vision by fostering new knowledge, developing capacity and forging strategic alliances across the arts and other sectors. To learn more visit www.uncsa.edu/kenan/.
About Art Pharmacy
Art Pharmacy is a health care services business that works with health care partners (insurance plans, health systems), universities, and nonprofit organizations to develop arts-based social prescribing ecosystems and implement arts-based social prescribing initiatives. Art Pharmacy’s smart-matching technology considers clinical needs, patient preferences, and decades of research to match each patient with appropriate arts and culture engagements. Art Pharmacy offers a closed-loop referral system, care plan integration, and outcomes monitoring. To learn more about Art Pharmacy, visit www.artpharmacy.co.
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July 22, 2025