University of Florida art projects to encourage COVID-19 vaccine confidence
Where traditional communication fails, art prevails.
After partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of Florida called upon students, faculty and staff to submit proposals for art projects encouraging COVID-19 vaccine confidence on campus.
“Art can resonate with people in ways that a government or a scientific statement may not be able to,” said Natalie Rella, the communications and social media coordinator of the Center for Arts in Medicine and leader of the initiative.
UF Health estimated in April that about 80% of students and about 90% of faculty have been vaccinated. Still, the university sought new methods of communication in hopes of reaching even higher vaccination rates.
Arts to Build Vaccine Confidence
Engaging the Arts to Build Vaccine Confidence at UF is an initiative created by the College of the Arts’ Center for Arts in Medicine, the College of Public Health and Health Professions and the College of Journalism and Communications’ Center for Public Interest Communications.
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The colleges welcomed UF affiliates to submit project proposals involving any form of artistic expression, including spoken word poetry, graphic design, dance, music and performance art. Each project, which can be created individually or as a group, should focus on promoting the vaccine, she said.
The colleges chose seven projects in late November to fund with $3,000 to $10,000 each. Project leaders will use the funding to execute their artwork, which will be displayed at various points across campus starting in February 2022, she added.
“Artists and culture bearers are who our community looks to in many ways,” she said. “We can leverage this to ensure that more people are vaccinated and that more lives are saved.”
UF Health Screen, Test & Protect
The colleges also have partnered with UF Health Screen, Test & Protect to establish COVID vaccination pop-up sites alongside the art stationed around campus. Members of the UF community can receive their vaccination if they feel driven to do so, she explained.
“Given the scale of this pandemic, it’s a miracle that we have a vaccine,” said Patrick James, project associate for the Center for Arts in Medicine. “Slowly, things are getting better. It’s tremendously meaningful to be a part of the process to try to help move things forward.”
This partnership not only provides a way for unvaccinated individuals to take action, but also measures the success of the artwork. The colleges plan to conduct brief surveys, focus groups or interviews with viewers to provide qualitative data on the results of the projects, Rella said.
The opportunity for the initiative was created after the CDC invited Jill Sonke, director of the Center for Arts in Medicine, to be the lead author of two field guide documents that provide resources for how communities can engage arts and culture to improve vaccine confidence. The publications prompted the college to continue their work on encouraging students to get vaccinated, she said.
“We’ve seen art throughout history as a source of social commentary,” she said. “It’s a medium of communicating on a greater level that is outside of words.”
Center for Arts in Medicine
The initiative provides the opportunity for first-time vaccinations and encourages others to receive their second dose or booster shot, said Brendan Martin, public health graduate student at UF and intern at the Center for Arts in Medicine.
“I want people at UF to feel comfortable getting vaccinated and know that there are groups on campus here to serve the students to make the experience as easy as possible,” he said.
Communicating a message to persuade a desired audience involves repetition of information. Whereas some connect with written or auditory information, others may experience a deeper connection with art, said Marcia DiStaso, UF professor and chair of the public relations department.
“The brilliance of this project is the way it’s going to bring people together, which is what art does so well,” she said. “It can unify a community, and that’s what we need to help overcome this vaccine hesitancy.”
Although those who are fundamentally against the vaccine may not resonate with the art as well as others, continuing to receive the message through different means can influence them to rethink their decision, she added.
\When government health officials struggle to gain the public’s confidence, artists can be revered as trusted messengers on divided issues. This initiative acts as a way to push messages from public health entities, Rella said.
“We are moved, as human beings, by beautiful things,” she said. “Art is one of those things.”
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: UF art projects to encourage COVID vaccine confidence
