Reflecting on the Arts in Health Intensive

Samantha Dunne
Sep 9
7 min read

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the Arts in Health Intensive, organized and delivered by the University of Florida’s Center for Arts in Medicine and UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine. This three-day event was most easily described as an incubator and catalyst for professionals working at the intersection of arts and health, providing opportunities for us to connect, share critical resources, and receive feedback and support aimed at helping each of us develop a new or existing program to grow the field.

These three days were inspiring, encouraging, and enormously informative. If you will allow me to indulge for just a moment, I’d like to pull back the curtain and reveal the different types of sessions this program included:

Program Director–led info sessions, including an overview of the field of Arts in Health, insights for creating impactful programs in healthcare and community settings, and delivering the State of the Evidence coming out of their faculty research in support of the importance of integrating the arts into healing, preventative, and palliative care.
Resident Artist–led sessions revealing the behind-the-scenes workings of running a successful arts-in-health program. We heard from four different types of artists who work in clinical settings – visual artists, musicians, dancers, and literary artists. Each shared what their day-to-day looks like as they bring the creative arts to hospital patients, balance their own art-making, and work in community to advance humanized healthcare.
Creative sessions that allowed us to participate in the artmaking, not only to receive the benefits, but to understand through experience how artist-led sessions for health are run. Over the course of three days, we wrote a song, then put those words to movement through dance, expressed our hopes for the intensive through drawing and painting, and finally, shared written stories and poems about how a song has the power to create connection, memory, or meaning.
Breakout sessions for the participants to focus on our individual program development. This included small group work, individual feedback, and head-down time to clarify our path forward once we returned to work after the Intensive ended.
And finally, the opportunity to present our program to a room full of arts in health professionals, including some of the leading experts in the field. Wow, what a gift!

Whew. Honestly, this exercise of typing that all out has helped me to digest all that we experienced during these three days. As you can see, it was quite the whirlwind. Now that I’ve laid the groundwork, I’d like to refocus on what exactly this intensive brought to me, as the Founder of The Ugly Art Studio. Specifically: what were my key takeaways, how will I apply these to The Ugly Art Studio, and what is my commitment to continue developing a program rooted in the service of community.

Learnings for The Ugly Art Studio

Attending the Arts in Health Intensive has helped me to clarify my vision for the business and understand exactly how I can plug into the community. Before the intensive, I had assumptions and ideas of how the field of Arts in Health functioned and what my business model was. Now, those assumptions have been converted to understandings, and the vision for my business has now been refined, reorganized, and clicked into place. Let me get specific — and be warned, the list is long.

Key Learnings and Insight

Before the Intensive …	After the Intensive…
I knew I wanted to develop UAS to be a trusted community partner for social prescribing, but I imagined figuring that part out later on, after the studio was established.	I now understand that partners for social prescribing are a critical need in the field, and that this must be embedded into my business model from the start.
I knew I needed community partnerships, but I wasn't clear on who they should be and what function they would serve.	I now understand that my strategic partnerships should be with organizations that see folks in need of ongoing wellbeing support, such as healthcare providers, workplace wellness programs, senior centers, and schools. This partnership would provide streamlined access to our arts-for-wellbeing programming at a reduced rate.
I had an idea of who my target audience was, but this was based on assumptions, not facts.	I now understand that I not only service the public, but more specifically, I am serving folks in need of ongoing wellbeing support. This includes families with young children, high school and college students, hospital patients and their families, over-stressed employees, and seniors.
I had imagined building community within my art studio	I now see how relationships can start in the studio, but in order to build community, these relationships must be maintained once they leave the space. I must define how UAS can facilitate ongoing social connection and provide a space for community groups to connect and gather.
I was vague on my mission and purpose statements	I now have a defined Mission Statement and Purpose Statement that is supported by our services
I was a bit fuzzy on the differences and similarities between Art Therapy and Arts in Health	I can now draw a clear Venn diagram
I was hoping funding for my studio could trickle in through selling art kits at markets, maybe some small business grant funding, etc.	It is overwhelmingly clear that I need substantial financial support if I want to open a brick-and-mortar studio by end of 2026, requiring investors and/or crowd-funding
I didn’t know what credentials looked like for professions in Arts in Health, and I didn’t know what certifications or licenses UAS may need to conduct our work	I now know that the field of Arts in Health does not have professional credentials, and have been affirmed that my experience as an empathic leader, artist, and metaphorical “forever student” of wellbeing is what my business needs to operate with trust and integrity
I assumed the Intensive would provide answers to fill in my current knowledge gaps, including gaps on funding and examples of successful social prescribing models.	I realized that I gained insights I couldn’t have even imagined before about the field of arts in health, but not all my questions were answered. It is now clear that I need business-focused mentorship to realize our mission. So, I created a shortlist of professional contacts who might be able to help me acquire the information I need.
I had no idea how to recruit, organize, and manage a team, and was planning on waiting until the funding came in to hire folks.	I now understand that in order to move the needle and get my business operational by end of 2026, I need a whole team of folks supporting me, upfront. So, I’ve created a shortlist of folks interested in working with me and am developing strategies for their compensation and growth.
I felt alone in the process, driving my ideas forward with little to no sounding-board, feedback, or support.	I now have an entire network of professionals who have heard my business pitch and are willing and able to provide resources and support whenever I need it. All things are better when done in community!

The Ugly Art Studio - Defined

Now armed with these key learnings and insights, I was able to process the role of UAS in the community and develop clear definitions for our business plan. Without further ado, I would like to present The Ugly Art Studio’s Organizational Identity.

Elevator Pitch: The Ugly Art Studio is a new art studio in Orlando, Florida, offering art-for-wellbeing services to the community. We facilitate creative experiences that support mind, body, and spirit, in any stage and phase of life. Our name is an invitation for people from all backgrounds and experience levels to make art without attachment to outcome. Our name is unconventional, disruptive, honest, and unforgettable. And it might just hit that raw, vulnerable spot deep down, giving you the permission you didn’t realize you were yearning for to make mistakes and just be human.

Mission Statement: Our mission is to make creativity an accessible and trusted resource for community health and wellbeing.

Purpose Statement: Our purpose is to improve health and strengthen community connection by offering inclusive, wellness-focused arts programming that removes barriers of cost, skill, and stigma.

Our Values:

Creativity for All: Everyone deserves access to the benefits of art-making, free from barriers of cost, skill, or stigma.
Process Over Perfection: Meaning is found in the making, so we shift the focus from outcomes to experiences to create space for growth, reflection, and wellbeing.
Evidence-Based Programming: Art experiences grounded in research and empathy can translate benefits of arts engagement into a trusted resource for community health and wellbeing.
Inclusivity, Accessibility, and Belonging: Community service means creating a space where everyone feels safe, valued, welcomed, and supported.
Mindful Stewardship: Sustainability and wellbeing are inseparable, requiring products and practices that are non-toxic, eco-friendly, and respectful of people and planet.

Our Services:

In the studio, we offer three different types of visual arts experiences.

The ArtsCafe is a space where folks can walk in, grab some coffee, and buy an Art Activity Kit to create at a table surrounded by community.
The Educational Classroom will serve as the next level of engagement for folks looking to dive a bit deeper into mediums, tools, and techniques. These classes will be guided by an art teacher and prioritize process over product — and certainly process over perfection.
The Wellness Studio will host art-for-wellbeing workshops which focus on the human experience of making art, rather than the supplies and techniques we use. These workshops will be run by trained art-for-wellness professionals, including Art Therapists and Art Therapy Practitioners. They will facilitate art-making that is meditative, expressive, or therapeutic. Not to be confused with or replace Art Therapy, these workshops will serve as non-clinical arts engagement for healing.

By layering multiple types of arts experiences, we meet folks where they are, offering a pathway to access wellbeing support through art-making. In addition to being open to the community, The Ugly Art Studio will serve as a trusted provider for social prescribing, partnering with healthcare providers, workplace wellness programs, senior centers, and schools for streamlined access to our in-studio programs at a reduced rate.

So … what do you think of our Organizational Identity? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below the post, or directly to my inbox: samantha@uglyartstudio.com.

The Path Forward

As I return to my work with The Ugly Art Studio following the Arts in Health Intensive, my commitment to continue developing an arts program rooted in the service of community is resolute. We have a long road ahead, but I am excited for each step of the way. We are building something truly unique and meaningful, and I could not be more proud to be leading the mission for The Ugly Art Studio.

I invite anyone to reach out to connect, share, or learn more.

In Creative Warmth,

Sammy

samantha@uglyartstudio.com

Founder & Director at The Ugly Art Studio