The Art and Happiness Project

Lead singer from the great indie band Ellery, Tasha Golden, is also a scientific researcher at John Hopkins' International Art+ Mind Lab on the subject of Art's impact on Health. Touring the world's stages Tasha encountered many people who'd come to her after shows to share with her previously untold stories of pain and trauma. It stuck with her. What is it about music, about the poetry of lyrics, about a stage, that makes people comfortable sharing things they'd never even told their partners or a therapist before?  So she did a PhD (as you do) and specialized her research on whether word-based arts such as music, creative writing or poetry, can be alternative means to express and process trauma, pain, and life. This was an amazing chat. How many people do you know who are both accomplished artists and scientists? You'll hear singing, poetry, you'll hear touching personal stories and impactful outputs from scientific research on Art's impact on our mental health. A very complete and moving episode before a little summer break. Enjoy!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Art and creativity are not what one usually thinks of as core needs in a technology business or larger corporate environments. Well, think again. In a post-pandemic world where employees are less connected and engaged, where competition is fierce, creativity might just become the key differentiator in workplace culture, wellness but also in innovation and efficiency.

What do the FBI, NYPD, Department of Homeland Security, many US Hospitals, Johnson & Johnson, Planned Parenthood, and a group of nuns  have in common? Amy Herman.Amy is a lawyer and art historian turned expert on seeing. For 14 years, she has been providing art-based leadership training to top officers in the United States military, law enforcement, medicine, education, and industry. In her "Art of Perception" seminars and programs,  Amy shows people how to look closely at paintings, sculptures, and photographs. She teaches them to see what's missing, see what's hidden or underrated, see from someone else's eyes. Seeing better to BE better, to do a better job. In the human business, that changes lives.Amy uses artworks to make people look again, think again, think better and be better.She developed her Art of Perception seminar in 2000 to improve medical students' observation and communication skills with their patients when she was the Head of Education at The Frick Collection in New York City. She subsequently adapted the program for a wide range of professionals and leads sessions internationally for a very impressive, official and powerful list of clients.Amy and I hit it off. We talked about:  her job with FBI officers and executives, but also more surprising groups of people. the power of learning to look very closely and how that makes us better at our jobs, but also in our lives. observing, and observing art in particular, as a meditation, an act of presence and patience in a fast spinning world. looking, contemplating and the use of our time on earth. Life, death, and the place that art holds in all of it. Loved all of it. I hope you do too!

"It's not obvious how or why art meets a need. We don't eat it, we don't have sex with it. Yet we are drawn to it and we've been making art since the begining of civilization"Today's guest is Dr. Anjan Chatterjee, Neurology professor at the University of Pennlysvania. He is a prominent neurologist, former Chief of Neurology at the Pennsylvania Hospital. He is currently the founder and director of the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, which studies the neural impact of aesthetic and artistic experiences. In his book “The Aesthetic Brain: how we evolved to desire beauty and enjoy art”  he makes a compelling case for the intimate links between art and science and their common goal of getting insight into the human experience. For all his scientific pedigree Anjan also has an artist's sensibility. He teaches architecture, has a deep love for street art, and he moonlights as a photographer.In this conversation Anjan and I discussed:how our brain reacts to art and beauty, and how we process and assign meaning.the role of art in human experience and social change.art's potential for becoming an recognized medical treatment.the challenges of scientific research and evidence on a subject so vast and subjective as art.There's no way to cover the full extent of these questions in under 40mn but I hope you'll get enough food for thought!Thanks for listening ✨----------------------------------------------------------------------------

✨This is about the healing and humanizing powers of classical music. I spoke with Dustin Seo, a classically trained cellist and Artistic Director of Street Symphony, a Los Angeles based non-profit that brings classical music to homeless communities to build connection and human dignity.  ❤️‍ Street Symphony was founded in 2011 by Vijay Gupta, A highly accomplished and renowned violinist with The Los Angeles Philharmonic. Gupta believed the act of making and performing music was a deeply spiritual practice - one that had the power to heal audiences and musicians alike. In 2007, Gupta was one of the youngest violinists to join the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but his path in music took an unexpected turn when he met Nathaniel Ayers — a Juilliard School-trained double bassist whose crippling schizophrenia ended his professional career and left him homeless. Gupta said the following about Ayers: “[Nathaniel] had a more encyclopedic knowledge of music than my professors at Yale. This was his oxygen, this was his survival. A lot of people on Skid Row turned to self-medicating with drugs, but Nathaniel turned to music.” After building a relationship and musical exchange with Ayers, Gupta wanted to do more and bring classical music down from the elite stage of the Disney Hall, to Skid Row, one of the largest and most disenfranchised homeless communities in America. So he founded Street Symphony, to bridge this gap.  ✨ Dustin spoke to me about the work of Street Symphony, and he also happened to played cello for me, which was a treat! He has a totally different perspective on the power and mission of classical music outside the concert halls and his stories of healing and solace from the hard hit Skid Row community were absolutely heart-rending.  We talked about :Music as an equalizing space for human connection, a purveyor of dignity and strength. What music can do when it seems that nothing can help.The role of music in bridging the gap between homeless communities and the rest of the worldThe contrast between the gilded image of classical music and its potential as a measure for social justice.   

When you see amazing street art, how do you feel? what do you think? what difference does it make to you?  I spoke with acclaimed street artist Jason Naylor in his Studio. His works are all over  New York City walls, and far beyond: colorful and uplifting designs with a touch of punk.Jason's distinctive touch is an explicit intent to spread messages of optimism and self-care throughout his work. His art and words are a remedy against cynicism, and a permission to play. Jason trained initially as a graphic designer, and gained serious recognition as a mural artist as he  partnered with brands like Coach, Pepsi, Guess, XBOX and Maybelline and Sephora. We talked about:The democratic uplifting powers of street artThe meaning and impact of *positivity*The power of colorsWhat are small creative ways to bring more joy into our lives.Creativity and creative thinking as a way to make us *pay attention*, be present, grateful and connected.Whilst speaking to Jason in his studio, I found it super refreshing to hear someone so sincere in their desire to promote "positivity",   a concept that we often tend to dismiss as an inauthentic pseudo self-help slogan.Enjoy

What is taste and why does it matter?  

☝️This episode is for anyone who ever found themselves in a museum thinking “I don't get this, this has nothing to do with me” .

Soul-stirring story alert!

In wartime, what good is art? In the midst of the brutal Russian invasion destroying Ukraine, Ukrainian Illustrator Anna Sarvira talks about the role of art as a weapon for release, education and resistance.This is a special episode. Like most people I've been feeling sad, scared, and angry about the war in Ukraine and the unnecessary loss, destruction, and grief. I've also been asking myself whether art has any place in all of this, and if so how to maximize its role.Anna left Ukraine and currently lives in Germany. All her world has collapsed and her family is still in Kiev, in turn sheltering and fighting. In what probably now feels to her like a different life, Anna is a children's illustrator and has also created illustrations for the Moma Magazine, UNICEF, the British Council, and Coca-Cola. Her work has been exhibited in Italy, South Korea, and Ukraine. Now she uses her creative powers to process, express, and educate the world about what is happening in her beloved country. 

❓Can art help bridge culture, race and social gaps? 

You thought amazing contemporary art belonged to galleries and penthouses? Think again. Tim A Shaw, the founder of UK based charity Hospital Rooms challenges the idea of what and who art is for. Hospital Room commission world-class artists to make extraordinary artworks for mental health units.They turn drab and depressing places into beautiful environments. They believe in the power of art to provide joy and dignity and to stimulate heal

I wanted to talk about dance in a way anyone can relate to. Even if you've never thought of yourself as a dancer, in some way you probably are. Who's never moved to the sound of music? Kate Wallich, founder of Dance Church, is a dancer, a choreographer and director and a business woman who's turned a Sunday dance class into a VC-backed, multi-million dollar tech company with a huge online community. She's at the intersection of dance, well-being, artist community, business and tech, and she's fascinating because people rarely make those world connect successfully. We talked about dance as an act of freedom, self-expression, self-esteem and belonging. We talked about the process of making it an inclusive and judgement-free practice. We talked about the birth and success of Dance Church, how it is proof that anyone is indeed a dancer. We talked about the need to support dancers as essential pillars of our culture and our wellbeing, and how that requires the art world to think of itself, unapologetically, also as a business.Dance Church Classes Business reference from Kate: The Hard Thing about Hard Things, Ben HorrowitzAHP is on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.Visit our website for info and contact here.