CBRC Community of Practice: Arts-Based Research & Acute Care Collaborations – Jan 9, 2026

Session Description

Community-Based Research Canada’s (CBRCanada) Community of Practice (CoP) group

Topic: Arts-Based Research & Acute Care Collaborations: Reimagining Community Partnerships in Healthcare Settings

Community-based research is expanding beyond its traditional boundaries, finding new intersections between art, science, and care. This Community of Practice session will explore how arts-based community organizations, such as orchestras, choirs, galleries, and dance companies, can become meaningful partners in research collaborations within acute care environments.

Drawing on groundbreaking work currently underway at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, this session will highlight an innovative effort to develop an arts-based research lab in collaboration with five major arts organizations: the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, The Toronto Children’s Choir, The Art Gallery of Ontario, the Canadian Opera Company, and Fall for Dance North.

Together, these partners are exploring how the arts can be studied and applied to improve workplace culture, staff well-being, and safety practices in high-intensity healthcare settings.

Participants will discuss how community arts organizations, often not seen as traditional research partners, can be integrated into health and community-based research collaborations to foster creativity, empathy, and cultural transformation within institutions.

Guest Facilitators:

• Ivan Lemus, RN, MN, Project Investigator at the SickKids Research Institute
• Dr. Kateryna Metersky, RN, PhD, Assistant Professor and Interim Associate Director, Collaborative Nursing Degree Program, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Toronto Metropolitan University