Participant in Baltimore Symphony conductor Marin Alsop’s renowned OrchKids Program.
Airs Tuesday, Sept. 25 & Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV
Lisa Kudrow hosts this two part special ARTS & THE MIND, "Creativity" (Sept. 25) and "The Art Of Connection" (Sept. 26), that reveals the crucial impact of the arts on the human brain across a lifetime and explores their vital role in human development during youth and age. The programs show how music, dance, painting, poetry and theater markedly improve well-being at both ends of life and reveal the cutting-edge science that explains the powerful, positive impact of the arts on the brain.
Showcasing some of the nation’s most innovative and successful arts programs, as well as the work of leading American educators and scientists, this special illuminates how the arts can improve children’s school performance and keep brains agile and sharp into old age; how teenagers find meaning and hope through poetry at a renowned Los Angeles program supported by actor Tim Robbins; how the arts help heal hospitalized children and older veterans with PTSD; and why one of America’s leading Alzheimer’s researchers advises that dance is the single most effective way to ward off dementia.
Throughout ARTS AND THE MIND, experts provide scientific context for everything we see. Researchers like Dr. Antonio Damasio (University of Southern California), Dr. Ellen Winner (Boston College), Dr. James Catterall (UCLA), Dr. Charles Limb (Johns Hopkins Medical Institute) and Dr. Peter Davies (Albert Einstein Medical Center) reveal the latest research on the impact of the arts on human development; why the arts improve children’s learning and achievement in school; and evidence to confirm how the arts keep middle-aged and older brains agile and alert. Included in these sections will be the latest medical imaging techniques that illustrate their findings.
ARTS & THE MIND explores the vital role the arts play in human development throughout our lifetimes. Part One, “Creativity,” features stories and the latest scientific research from experts around the country illuminating how the arts are critical in developing healthy young minds and maintaining them as we age. Hosted by Lisa Kudrow.
ARTS & THE MIND reveals stories and the latest scientific research on how music, dance, painting, poetry and theater markedly improve well-being throughout our lifetimes. Part Two, “The Art of Connection,” depicts the positive effects of the arts for children in hospitals, veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, building community in Appalachia, and warding off dementia.
