Keynote speaker is Dr. Michael Roizen, Chief Wellness Officer at the Cleveland Clinic

An innovative, one-day workshop that brings artists, health care professionals and the community together to explore how creative activities can benefit health and quality of life will take place at Cleveland State University, titled “Design a Life: Promoting Wellness through Creative Expression" on Friday, April 23.

The conference is an ideal opportunity for health care professionals, students and anyone with an interest in creativity to work with artists, musicians and writers, and to reflect on ways to add creative activities into one’s life and the lives of patients to promote health and wellness.

The conference will be held at the Joseph E. Cole Center for Continuing Education, 3100 Chester Ave., on the Cleveland State campus. The April 23 conference runs from 8:15 a.m.-5 p.m. The $120 fee for professionals includes the conference, continental breakfast and lunch, parking, all supplies and CEUs. The fee for students and community members is just $30 and includes everything but CEUs.

The conference brings together many of Cleveland’s renowned health care, art and education organizations, presenting a wide range of hands-on workshops that provide insight on how creative activities may contribute to physical and mental health. Attendees will choose two workshops on gardening, jewelry, mask making, swing dancing, eco-textiles and photography, among others.

In addition, a community panel will discuss how to employ creative activities when providing care to promote wellness and remediate illness and dysfunction.

“A growing body of research emphasizes the link between health, well-being and engagement in meaningful creative activities,” said Bette Bonder, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Science. “Such activities allow people to maintain their identities, enhance self-esteem, manage stress and regain strength and mobility after disabling illness.”

The keynote speaker is Dr. Michael Roizen, Chairman of the Wellness Institute and Chief Wellness Officer at the Cleveland Clinic. He is the author of RealAge: Are you as Young as You Can Be?, a New York Times number one bestseller, and co-author of You: The Owner’s Manual.

Dr. Roizen will speak on “Real Age and You: The Cleveland Clinic Experience of Controlling Your Genes and What it Means for You.”

The event is sponsored by Cleveland State’s College of Science, The Cleveland Clinic, The Cleveland Institute of Art, Judson at University Circle, Cuyahoga Community College, Benjamin Rose Institute, The Art Therapy Studio and Western Reserve Geriatric Center.

To register, please visit www.csuohio.edu/sciences/workshop/designalife or call 216.687.2144.

About Cleveland State University

Founded in 1964, Cleveland State University is a public research institution that provides a dynamic setting for engaged learning. With an enrollment of more than 16,000 students, 8 colleges and more than 250 academic programs, CSU provides a hands-on learning environment that connects students, ideas and real-world experience. Visit www.csuohio.edu for more information.

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