2026 a2ru Conference: “How We Thrive: Arts, Health and Human Flourishing”
About the Conference & Theme
a2ru’s next annual conference will take place October 22-24, 2026, at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. This will be an in-person conference.
The a2ru national conference is an opportunity for practitioners and researchers from across higher education to share innovations and perspectives in the arts. a2ru advances the full range of arts- and design-integrative research, curricula, programs, and creative practice to acknowledge, articulate, and expand the vital role of higher education in our global society. a2ru’s work, in partnership with an international network of leading higher education institutions, allies, and partners, envisions a world in which universities—students, faculty, and leaders—explore, embed, and integrate the arts in everyday practice and research.
Theme:
This year’s theme, “How We Thrive: Arts, Health and Human Flourishing,” explores the many ways that the arts can drive health and wellness for individuals and communities. The rapidly expanding, international field of arts in health has established foundational research and continues to innovate across disciplines and in a range of clinical and community settings.
Creative faculty are leading interdisciplinary teams focused on elevating health and wellbeing among individuals and within communities across social-ecological systems. The arts as a driver of health comes in many forms, along a spectrum from organic community experiences to clinical interventions. New insights into the way arts experiences can reshape our minds, impacting the ways we feel, think and act, require broad collaboration among scientists, artists, technologists, clinicians and the communities they serve.
As we innovate at the intersection of arts and health, we must also attend to the health of the arts. In this moment of disruption and uncertainty for the arts and higher education, how can we promote healthy arts and arts-integrative practices and programs? How do we continue to move our research and creative work forward? How do we keep ourselves, our students, and our communities well while doing good work?
Call for Proposals
All Proposals are due by Monday, March 23, 2026, at 11:59pm Pacific Time.
We are accepting proposals for workshops, presentations, panels, and posters/artwork.
Proposals should address one or more of the following tracks:
Track One: Arts, Health and Human Flourishing
Topics in Track One explore the conference theme “Arts, Health and Human Flourishing.” Proposals may focus on research, creative practice, and/or pedagogy.
Potential thematic questions to consider include:
- Arts in Health: What are outstanding examples of arts in health pedagogy and practice? What are the next steps needed to advance the field in academic and professional contexts? How can the arts support public health in the US in a moment of widespread distrust and misinformation?
- Arts as Part of Healthy Communities: How can the arts best be used to promote a range of health behaviors in our communities? What is needed to sustain these programs long-term and promote arts participation as a lifelong health behavior? How can emerging social prescribing/arts on prescription programs best demonstrate impact?
- Arts and the Mind: How can we use advances in neuroscience and neuroaesthetics to better understand and communicate the benefits of arts experiences for all individuals?
- Arts and Technology: How are new technologies capturing the ways that arts experiences impact our bodies? How can they help measure and provide new understandings of creativity?
- Healthy Arts Ecologies: What do artists, arts students, and arts education programs need to thrive in this moment of financial, political, and technological upheaval? How can institutions mitigate the impact of uncertainty to ensure faculty and students continue to produce outstanding research, pedagogy, and creative work?
Track Two: Practical Applications for Arts Integration in Higher Education
Topics in Track Two are broadly concerned with creating and supporting work, developing tools, and presenting ideas about integrating the arts and design in the context of academic research and teaching cultures. Presentations and workshops should contribute to the conference by addressing one of the following themes: modes of collaboration; interdisciplinary stewardship; inclusive practices; campus amplification and departmental engagement; promotion and tenure; and dealing with data, cultures of evidence, and impacts case-making.
Track Three: Steps Toward Change
“Steps Toward Change” sessions focus on pedagogy, research and creative and administrative practices being undertaken by faculty, students, and staff that promote greater systemic and institutional access in the arts and higher education. These sessions may also look specifically at how a2ru can become a more diverse organization and advance equitable access.
For further details, please see the full CFP by clicking below.
Click below to submit a proposal:
Registration Rates and Policies
Registration Rates
In recognition of continued financial challenges in the arts and higher education, a2ru is keeping registration rates the same for the third year in a row.
Registration will open by May 1, 2026.
- Early Bird Registration rates will be in effect through June 30, 2026.
- Regular Registration rates will be in effect from July 1 through September 30, 2026.
- Late Registration rates will be in effect beginning October 1, 2026.
Member rates apply to faculty, staff, and students affiliated with one of our institutional or departmental members, and well as to our individual members.
Individual registrations are for full-time faculty and staff.
Student registrations are for undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students.
Independent/contingent registrations are for contingent/adjunct faculty, as well as independent scholars and artists unaffiliated with a higher education institution. Retired faculty and staff are also eligible for this category.
If you have questions about which registration rate applies to you, please contact us at a2ruconnect@umich.edu.
Group Rates
We are pleased to offer discounts for group registrations:
- Groups of 5 or more receive 10% off the current, applicable registration rate.
- Groups of 10 or more receive 15% off
- Groups of 20 or more receive 20% off
Groups must come from a single institution. a2ru can provide a checkout page for credit card payments or issue an invoice for group registrations. With questions or to arrange a group registration, please contact us at a2ruconnect@umich.edu.
Refund and Transfer Policy
a2ru has revised its refund policy for the 2026 conference.
We will offer a full refund on conference registrations, minus a $25 processing fee, until July 22, 2026.
We will offer a 50% refund on conference registrations, minus a $25 processing fee, until September 30, 2026.
No refunds will be available after September 30, 2026.
Registration transfers:
Should they be unable to attend the conference, conference registrants also have the option to transfer their registration to an alternate attendee. Finding an alternate attendee is the responsibility of the original registrant. We are unable to offer price adjustments for transferred registrations. Please contact us at a2ruconnect@umich.edu to initiate a registration transfer.
Sponsors
