The Ringling to Host ‘Wonder: Art + Healing’ Symposium
The Ringling’s second annual Wonder Symposium will take place from Wednesday, May 14 – May 16th.
The 2025 symposium will dive into wonder as the connective tissue
between the arts and healing. Through thought-provoking presentations and inspiring activities and
experiences, this symposium will explore the arts as agents of wonder and the role that wonder can play
in emotional, mental, and physical healing. The inaugural Wonder Symposium was held in 2024 at The
Ringling.
“Last year’s symposium was extremely well-received and inspired us to more intentionally
consider the experiences of wonder available at The Ringling. We wanted to build on that momentum and give it a more precise focus,” says Jennifer Lemmer Posey, co-organizer of the Wonder Symposium
and Tibbals Curator of Circus at The Ringling. “A major takeaway from last year was the understanding
that being present in wonder is can be emotionally and physically transformative.”
“We believe going to museums is good for your health,” says Katie Nickel, co-organizer of the
Wonder Symposium and the Head of Education at The Ringling. “Participants will explore the potential of
the arts to inspire wonder, which in turn, promotes physiological, mental, and emotional healing.”
Opening keynote speaker, Dacher Keltner, PhD—a leading scholar on happiness and emotion and
co-Director of the Greater Good Science Center—will speak in the Historic Asolo Theater at 6 p.m. on
Wednesday, May 14, 2025, on the concept of awe and wonder. A reception will follow where he will sign
copies of his book Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How it Can Transform Your Life at the
Museum Store.
On Thursday, May 15, 2025, from 1 to 4:30 p.m., there will be a public carnival of wonder on The
Ringling’s North Searing Lawn. Local organizations will be on site sharing the wonders of their work along
with art-making activities and workshops set in a carnival-like atmosphere with food trucks, games, and
music. This is free to all Ringling guests with paid Museum admission.
The evening will feature a keynote address by Jennifer Kuo, MPH, CHES, in the Historic Asolo
Theater. Kuo will present on public health and arts, particularly on the social prescribing movement in
healthcare. Social prescribing is a healthcare delivery model in which providers prescribe social
connection—through arts, nature, movement, and service—as an important component of preventative
and healing care.
The keynote will be followed by Ringling WONDERground in the Museum of Art courtyard. This
high-energy community event features live music, food trucks, artmaking, and live performances.
On Friday, May 16, 2025, presentations exploring wonder through a variety of perspectives will take
place in the Chao Lecture Hall and in the Museum of Art galleries from 8:30 a.m. through 5:30 p.m when
there will be a final reception for attendees in the Center for Asian Art. These presentations will bring
together voices from academic and artistic communities in a multi-faceted exploration of wonder. The
presenters are as follows:
- Jillianne Abbott | Sarasota Art Museum
- Nicole Bentze, DO, FAAFP, FAMWA | Florida State University College of Medicine, Sarasota
Regional Medical Campus - Jennifer Bonamer
- Poet Emily Carr, Beach Witch | Project Pride
- Amber Lucia Chabus | Artist
- Connie Cuadrado | Sarasota Art Museum
- Deborah Engel, MSN, RN, CWON | Sarasota Memorial Hospital Healthcare System
- Anni Giles | Afición Flamenca
- William Giles | Afición Flamenca
- Carolina González Ph.D. | Afición Flamenca
- John Gulledge, PhD | Wittenberg University
- Piper Hutson, EdD | Missouri Arts Council
- Mitsi Ito
- Brooke Keller, PhD | The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
- Sydney Lemelin | Artist
- Hsuan Chi Liu | Florida State University
- Ann Rowson Love, PhD | Florida State University
- Paula Lynn | National Gallery of Art
- Kelli Maldonado | Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation
- Hedda Matza-Haughton, LCSW | For the Health of It Consultation Services, Arts for Health
Sarasota-Manatee - Ames Morton-Winter | The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
- Hunter O’Hanian | Independent Scholar
- Giovana Pérez-Oliveras | The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
- Mariah Pierre, BSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC, HNB-BC | Sarasota Memorial Health Care System
- Nathalie Ryan | National Gallery of Art
- Maria Schaedler-Luera | Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation
- Phoebe Scheidegger | Florida State University
- Bruno Wu | Chef
Tickets to the full symposium or individual keynote sessions and WONDERGround are available, along
with a full schedule of events.
