Arts Symposium

The 6th Annual International Symposium for the Arts in Palliative Care

“Living, dying and the arts: Whose story, whose voice?”

Friday 14th November 2025

9.30 – 17.00 UK time

Hybrid event (in-person and online)

This international symposium has become an annual landmark event for the arts in palliative care. It brings together arts therapists, socially engaged arts practitioners, community artists, arts and health professionals as well as researchers, policy makers and community partners with a commitment to interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration.

This year’s theme focuses on living, dying and the arts. By questioning ‘Whose story, whose voice?’, we seek to foster a welcoming and critical environment for sharing stories of creative practices and care as well as stories of professionalisation, evidence and ethics.

We are not looking for ‘success’ stories or polished outcomes. Instead, we are interested in stories of projects, individual accounts, organisational initiatives and/or programme reflections that offer real-life perspectives. Such perspectives offer an insight into the underpinning thinking and processes of creative practice, including questions, challenges and unmet needs that may often remain untold or silent.

Programme and abstracts

Please click here to access the Booklet of the symposium where you will find the programme and all presentation abstracts. 

Venue

The symposium will be hosted at our No17 conference venue at St Columba’s Hospice Care in Edinburgh and it will be offered as a hybrid event inviting both in-person and online participants and speakers. Online participants will be able to join via Zoom.

Call for posters

We are delighted to announce an open call for poster submissions for this year’s symposium. Our poster exhibition will be an integral part of sharing practice and research, and of professional networking. As a hybrid event, the symposium will be able to host in-person and/or online poster presentations depending on the presenters’ preference.

To submit your poster abstract, please complete your proposal using this online form and submit it by Sunday 21^st August 2025 via email at arts@stcolumbashospice.org.uk

All proposals will be reviewed by the organising team and review outcomes will be communicated by  the end of August.

Registration

To register, please click on this link. Both online and in-person tickets are available. In-person tickets are limited to 40 and offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Early bird registration closes on 5^th September 2025.

Key timelines & Information

21^st August 2025            Poster submission deadline

30^th August 2025            Poster review outcomes

5^th September 2025       Early bird registration deadline

10^th November 2025      Registration deadline

Friday 14 Nov 2025        Symposium

For further information about the symposium, please email arts@stcolumbashospice.org.uk

The symposium is co-organised with Queen Margaret University and is kindly sponsored by Barcelona Publishers and Leiden University.