The following State of the Field Report offers information about progress in the field since the symposium, which resulted in recommendations and a strategic direction to advance the arts in healthcare.

A March 2003 symposium, hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Society for the Arts in Healthcare, brought together 40 experts in medicine, the arts, social services, media, business, and government to develop a strategic plan for advancing cultural programming in healthcare. The strategic plan aimed to help advocates raise awareness of the benefits of arts in healthcare, better document and disseminate research demonstrating its value, move toward a national funding base, and develop adequate training to educate and train healthcare workers and administrators (NEA, 2003). The participants in this landmark symposium included representatives from the Johnson & Johnson Foundation, the American Hospital Association, Johns Hopkins University, Americans for the Arts, National Institute on Aging, and The Joint Commission.

Arts in Healthcare is a diverse, multidisciplinary field dedicated to transforming the healthcare experience by connecting people with the power of the arts at key moments in their lives. This rapidly growing field integrates the arts, including literary, performing, and visual arts and design, into a wide variety of healthcare and community settings for therapeutic, educational, and expressive purposes.