Led by a team of academics with an interest in health and wellbeing from across the University, Mataora is an intermingling of creative performance and conversation with cutting-edge research.
The conference will explore how the power of the humanities and the performing arts can create a deeper understanding of health and wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand. Mataora features speakers and performers from the University and beyond, in the fields of music, theatre, creative writing, mental health, neuroscience and more. Each will bring creative, clinical, and intellectual perspectives to ignite fresh thinking and foster conversation about issues central to mental health and wellbeing.
Victoria University of Wellington Professor of Health Annemarie Jutel says, “This is the first time the health and arts communities are coming together for a New Zealand conference, and we want to inspire and invigorate public, healthcare, and policy audiences. Mataora will be an unforgettable experience for anyone interested in health and wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
“The line-up draws on knowledge not just from professionals but from the wealth of experience from community organisations in the arts and health and wellbeing sectors. We are excited to be joined by people such as writers Chessie Henry, Carl Shuker, Sue Wootton and Rob Mokaraka, Black Power member Eugene Ryder, science communicator and microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles and GP Chris Reid, alongside our own academics specialising in a range of fields—from Dr Chris Bowden’s expertise in suicide bereavement, to Associate Professor Gina Grimshaw who heads up our Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.”
Mataora will be held on Saturday 12 October at Te Papa.
What: Mataora—Encounters between Medicine and the Arts
When: Saturday 12 October 2019
Where: Soundings Theatre at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Media are welcome to attend.
Read more and register here.