Art & Global Health Salons
Community engagement through immersive art experiences and dialogue
A project of RaD Lab
Overview
Taking a student-centered approach, the Art & Global Health Salons create roaming, curated spaces across UCLA. Each salon invites participants into an environment of creativity and dialogue, where students, faculty, and staff come together for community art-making and facilitated conversation. These immersive gatherings provide a space to explore pressing local and global challenges through creative expression, personal storytelling, and collective reflection.
Goals
Art & Global Health Salons are designed to:
- Encourage holistic wellbeing by integrating mental health, sexual health, and physical wellbeing into creative, approachable conversations.
- Foster connection across communities by bringing together students, staff, and faculty from different disciplines in spaces that break down social barriers.
- Promote learning and knowledge-sharing through peer engagement and art-as-entertainment-education methods that help students absorb and apply information in meaningful ways.
- Challenge stigma and spark dialogue by centering art as a tool to discuss sensitive or complex health and social topics with openness and empathy.
How Salons Work
Student Brainstorming
Planning for each salon begins with UCLA students identifying current issues and themes they want to explore.
Organizing with Art & Global Health Center Staff
Our team collaborates with students to shape the format, logistics, and creative elements of the salon.
Co-designing the Experience
Together, students and staff craft the activities, discussion prompts, and artistic components that will guide the event.
Gathering in Community
The salon takes place as an immersive experience—bringing people together over food, art, and dialogue.
Past Salons
Upcoming Salons
Check back soon for details about our next event.