National Organization for Arts in Health

Call for Proposals

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL Deadline: April 16

NOAHCON 25 information:

 • November 5th – 7th, 2025 at the NYU Kimmel Center in New York City

• November 5: Pre-conference tours & Kick-off party
• November 6 - 7: Conference Days
• November 19: Virtual day

**Applicants choose between virtual/in-person on their submission form 

The conference attracts people with an interest in arts in health (including but not limited to, in alphabetical order):

 • Artists of all disciplines

• Arts administrators

• Creative and Expressive Arts Therapists

• Designers

• Educators - arts and medical

• Healthcare professionals - administrative and clinical

• Researchers

• Students

• Teaching artists

Timeline:

March 5, 2025 – Call for Proposals opens

April 16, 2025, 11:59 pm EDT – Submissions Deadline

May 2025 - Applicants notified whether their submissions are accepted or declined

*All efforts are made to send notifications by the planned date. Should there be any delays with the selection process, the revised date will be posted on the conference webpage. LATE OR INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.  By submitting a proposal, you agree that you will attend and present if selected, and you will be responsible for registration and related costs.

2025 Focus Areas (in alphabetical order):  

• Art + Design for the Built Environment | How can the arts enhance healthcare & community spaces to promote healing, connection, & well-being? How can these spaces be designed with equity and inclusion in mind, ensuring accessibility and cultural relevance? What do decision-makers seek when integrating art, and how can artists and designers collaborate to create more inclusive, welcoming environments?

• Community Health + Public Health | How are you partnering and providing for caregivers and historically under-resourced communities? How are the arts addressing issues such as mental health, disease prevention, health promotion, and policy development?

• Equity + Advancing Well-Being | How can arts in health practices foster healing, inclusivity, and positive impact in both clinical and community settings? What strategies can be used to promote social justice and health equity, reduce stigma, and create safe, empowering spaces that support well-being for all?

• Program Development + Sustainability | How have you navigated the challenges of creating and sustaining an arts in health program? What strategies have you used to engage community partners, stakeholders, and funders, and how have these relationships strengthened your work? How have shared goals and collective efforts contributed to the program’s long-term impact and sustainability?

• Research + Evaluation| Illustrate the best practices or strategies you have used in research, metrics, and evaluation in your work. How can these strategies help the field and move it forward?

• Technology + Innovations | What new approaches and innovations are we seeing in the field of arts in health? What interactive elements, with data-driven results, are being used? How are we using AI, and what concerns do we have around bias, privacy, and human judgment?

Note to prospective applicants – we look forward to receiving your strongest proposal in the appropriate focus area(s) for your work. You do not need to cover all the areas in your proposal. 

Formats:

• Presentations

o 30-minute lecture + 10-minute Q&A (40 minutes total)

o Lecture and Q&A session showcasing your work in one or more of the conference focus areas. The presentation should include one or more of the following: tangible takeaways, replicable programming and/or methodology, discussion of challenges faced and how they were addressed successfully or ideas for future success, and data that supports your claims. Upon selection, you will be given a deadline to submit slides, which must follow our accessibility guidelines. 

• Workshops

o 50-minute interactive session + 10-minute Q&A (60 minutes total)

o Workshops are an opportunity for you to engage conference attendees with interactive and immersive methods around our focus areas. A robust experiential component is required and should be designed to engage all participants in a process through which they will gain hands-on experience and understanding of the material covered. Your session should include one or more of the following: a demonstration of artistic practice, modeled group facilitation using proven methods to achieve desired outcomes, hands on activities or tangible instructions on how to replicate programming, and a format that encourages discussion across various areas of expertise. Expect between 10-60 participants. Workshops must be designed for people with all abilities, and aside from audio-visual resources, supplies needed must be provided by you.

• Posters

o Posters will only be displayed during the in-person days o If selected, you must bring the poster with you to the NYU Kimmel Center or ship it ahead of time. The mailing address will be provided upon selection.

o A poster should contain a project or paper summary that can be clearly demonstrated on a 48”x36” surface. Proposals may include a combination of text, photos, illustrations, and rendering. If approved, posters must be created within our provided template. Reviewers will be using the following criteria to evaluate and select presentations: 

• Alignment with one of the conference focus areas

• Creativity and innovation are evident

• The written presentation has clear, well-written learning objectives for attendees with an implementation plan

• Demonstrated impact based on qualitative and/or quantitative data

• Diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (accessible for communities of all income levels and abilities; this is an expansive definition rather than a limiting one)

• Relevance/of interest to the field

• Presentation is transferable, adaptable, and/or replicable (scalable)

• Sustainability via funding, staff resources, community support, etc.

• Presentation is given by a professional/experienced person in the field

How to Submit a Proposal:

The summary form field is limited to 500 characters. If you need to submit a longer abstract (no longer than 500 words), you can upload a PDF under the form field “Upload up to 5 images, schematics, or illustrations.” 

Proposals must include 3 clear learning objectives.  There must be a clear connection between the proposal and one or more of the conference focus areas.