WAMFest “Arts in Health”

WAMFest “Arts in Health”

WAMFest 2026: ARTS in Health

ARTS By The People and Fairleigh Dickinson University presents WAMFest 2026: ARTS in Health; a two-day festival of creative workshops and performances designed to engage Nursing, Psychology, and Allied Health students at Fairleigh Dickinson University as well as regional health workers, while encouraging collaboration with the university’s Arts, Communication, and Humanities programs.

As New Jersey’s premier event at the intersection of arts and health, ARTS in Health, WAMFest celebrates how the arts foster skills — such as creativity, adaptability, empathy, curiosity, attention to detail, and communication — that are essential to the field of healthcare. However, sessions will also invite healthcare students and workers to build community, process and express job-related stress, and expand focus and imagination. In other words, WAMFest 2026: Arts In Health takes a holistic approach to wellness. When those who steward the well-being of others take care of themselves, they are better equipped for their work.

• All workshops are open to the public and barrier free.

• If you need assistance, please reach out to us at info@artsbythepeople.org with questions and accessibility needs.

• Festival schedule is subject to change. To sign up for workshops, CLICK HERE

• Workshops are limited to 20 participants. There will be a waitlist for ‘observing only’.

Day 2: Thursday, April 9, 2026
Orangerie

Maps, click here.

11:30 am-1:00 pm: “Understanding nature’s impact on health & well being”

Anne M. Meore, LMSW, HTR
Horticultural Therapist

This workshop will explore the manner by which nature serves as a source of healing & restoration. Participants will engage in creating a restorative desktop garden and come to understand, first-hand, the foundational concepts that support wellness through nature engagement.

1:00-2:30 pm: Lunchtime Presentation at the Orangerie (By Invitation Only)

Tara Rynders, RN

2:30-4:00 pm: “The Clinic”

Tara Rynders, RN

Using movement, storytelling, and play as medicine, participants will experience what it feels like to receive care and practice collective care in community with one another, leaving with tangible practices for sustaining resilience.

4:30-6:00 pm: Buffet Dinner and Keynote with Thomas Dooley at the Orangerie Main Floor: In The Belly Of The Whale (Registration Not Required)

Keynote: Thomas Dooley

Thomas Dooley is Atlantic Health System’s first Program Manager for Humanistic Medicine. As the first program manager for the expanding Humanistic Medicine program, Thomas is dedicated to advancing health humanities within the Division of Academic Affairs, integrating medical humanities, biopsychosocial medicine, and patient-centered care. He works collaboratively with medical residents and students, extending his efforts to offer narrative medicine at the bedside for patients and caregivers dealing with trauma, terminal illness, pain, isolation, grief and other life-changing events.

6:00-7:30 pm: Stories in Motion: “What Does Empathy Mean To You?” (Open to all—Registration not required)

Paul Rabinowitz, Kelly Guerrero, Micaela Camacho-Tenreiro and Jakub Wala.

In this culminating, participatory performance at the intersection of listening, movement, and storytelling, ARTS By The People’s teaching artists will facilitate an exploration of empathy.