Understanding the Human person is fundamental to the practice of Medicine. One extraordinary aspect of being Human is our capacity to be creative-to project ourselves in the world- and vice versa, by our Creativity to influence both ourselves and our environment.

Hence, this conference, while Malta is European Capital of Culture: A conference  about psychiatry and the arts.

The conference aims to explore how the Human Person  reacts to beauty, as expressed by all the Arts, including Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Architecture and Music. It also aims to explore what mechanisms there are in our bodies, including our brains, which enable us to produce beautiful things, and where that capacity can lead us in our fulfillment as people.

To do this, Art is approached from a Neuroscience, Philosophical and Anthropological viewpoint, and a discussion will be held on how these viewpoints overlap with each other. Moreover, a discussion on how Aesthetics can be used in therapy, to help heal illness and help us live fruitful lives will be held.

This conference is a collaboration between The University of Malta, The Psychiatric Services in Malta, The University of Cambridge Clinical School, Clare College Cambridge, Centro Studi Psichiatrici Iseo Italy, and the The Collaborating Centre for Values-based Practice in Health and Social CareSt Catherine’s College, Oxford.

The Contributors are a range of people including Michael Musalek , the European expert on Aesthetics in Psychiatry from Vienna, the Poet and Psychiatrist Giuseppe Tavormina, Anton Grech, Director of Psychiatry in Malta and TV personality, Architectural Expert Richard England , Theatre Expert Paul Xuereb  and colleagues from Cambridge, Malta, the USA, Switzerland, and Italy.

The Conference is being held on 13th and 14th July at Verdala Palace, itself a glorious artwork and will be preceded on the 12th July by a concert by the world famous Clare College Choir from Cambridge at the Anglican Cathedral in Valletta.

This Conference is endorsed by the Valletta 2018 Foundation.