UIC's Arts-Medicine Project is holding the "Health in the Arts" conference to help identify, control, medically manage and prevent injury and illness from work in the arts.

Among the artists, occupational safety and health experts, arts educators and administrators scheduled to present and participate in panel discussions are:

• Dr. Katherine Duvall, co-director of the UIC Arts-Medicine Project
• Dr. David Hinkamp, co-director of the UIC Arts-Medicine Project
• Lorraine Conroy, UIC associate professor of occupational and environmental health
• Robert Kameczura, artist · Monona Rossol, president of Arts, Crafts & Theater Safety, New York City

Friday, Nov. 3
5 to 8 p.m.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
112 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago Ballroom

Saturday, Nov. 4
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
UIC Chicago Illini Union
828 S. Wolcott Ave.

The Arts-Medicine Project in the UIC School of Public Health's Great Lakes Center for Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health is the only program of its kind geared toward artists, museum and stage workers engaged in all forms of artistic expression. It is one of only a few programs that take an occupational health approach, emphasizing prevention as much as treatment. In addition to creating an interdisciplinary network of specialists to treat arts workers in a clinical setting, UIC's Arts-Medicine Project offers educational programs and workplace evaluations, including a research component. The conference is part of the educational mission of UIC's Arts-Medicine Project. It is targeted toward musicians, dancers, actors, visual artists and others working in the arts, as well as occupational safety and health professionals, arts educators, students, policy advocates, administrators and legislators, and union leaders. The conference will address the major health and safety hazards faced in a variety of specific art practices. Participants will learn about injuries and illnesses that artists experience, the conditions that cause the injuries and illnesses, and strategies for the recognition, control and elimination of hazards and injuries from work in the arts.

"Health in the Arts" is funded by the UIC School of Public Health, the UIC College of Architecture and the Arts, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the CDC's National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health. It is a collaboration of major Chicago arts organizations including the Chicago Artists' Coalition, Columbia College Chicago's Center for Arts Policy, the Art Institute of Chicago, and United Scenic Artists Local 829.

To register or for more information, contact Laurel Berman or Joe Zanoni at (312) 996-6904, or look under Seminars and Conferences at www.uic.edu/sph/glakes/ce/

5 p.m. Reception

6 p.m. Welcome by Susan Scrimshaw, dean, UIC School of Public Health and Judith Russi Kirshner, dean, UIC College of Architecture and the Arts

6:15 p.m. Panel discussion: Artists discuss health issues related to their work in the arts

7 p.m. Open forum on health in the arts

7:45 p.m. Closing comments by Dr. Katherine Duvall and Dr. David Hinkamp, co-directors of the UIC Health and the Arts program

9 a.m. Welcome by Susan Scrimshaw, dean, UIC School of Public Health

9:15 a.m. "The Arts are Hazardous Professions," presentation by Drs. Duvall and Hinkamp

9:45 a.m. "Prevention and Industrial Hygiene," presentation by Lorraine Conroy, industrial hygienist and UIC associate professor of occupational and environmental health

10:30 a.m. Panel discussion: "One Dangerous Thing You Do Not Want to Give Up," artists discuss psychosocial and other obstacles to making changes in how they work

11:30 a.m. "Strategies for Prevention," presentation by Monona Rossol, president of Arts, Crafts & Theater Safety, New York, and author of "The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide," and "STAGE FRIGHT: Health and Safety in the Theater"

12:15 p.m. Lunch

1 p.m. Panel discussion: "Bridging the Gap: Exploring Artists' Health Care Policies," Jeff Abel, program development coordinator for Columbia College Chicago's interdisciplinary arts department will moderate this panel discussion

1:45 p.m. Workshops: Workshops geared to specific artistic disciplines and one geared to art educators and administrators

3:30 p.m. Plenary session: Workshop leaders report findings from workshops and participants respond

4:15 p.m. Evaluation and closing