Christopher Bailey
Founding Co-director, Jameel Arts & Health Lab
Christopher Bailey works at the intersection of arts, culture and global health. He previously led the Arts & Health programme at the World Health Organization, where he developed creative initiatives that connected people emotionally, strengthened communication and encouraged collaboration across disciplines. He is now part of the Jameel Arts and Health Lab, which supports research, policy, outreach and capacity building worldwide, with a special focus on underserved communities.
«Art in healthcare opens up communication and allows people not only a new perspective, but enjoyment in the moment.»
More about Christopher Bailey
Christopher Bailey leads work at the Jameel Arts and Health Lab, an initiative dedicated to exploring how the arts can improve health and wellbeing. The Lab supports research, informs policy, drives outreach, and builds capacity worldwide, with a particular focus on underserved communities.
Educated at Columbia and Oxford Universities and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Bailey began his career as a professional actor and playwright. He then transitioned into global health, joining the Rockefeller Foundation as Research Manager before moving to the World Health Organization, where he led initiatives in health informatics and online communications. Building on this experience, he later founded and directed the Arts & Health programme, bringing together his artistic and public health expertise.
Bailey has created and performed original works such as Stage 4: Cancer and the Imagination, The Vanishing Point: A Journey into Blindness and Perception, and Shakespeare and Well-being. Through his artistic and public health work, he has sought to amplify a holistic vision of health — one that recognises wellbeing as the fullest expression of physical, mental and social life, rather than simply the absence of disease.