Michael Tan is an arts-health practitioner, creative health researcher, artist, and educator from Singapore. His practice and research explore, interrogate, and imagine the future of care through creative practice to promote human flourishing. His current inquiries focus on mental health literacy, ageing, nature connectedness, compassionate communities, end-of-life planning and loss, health justice, and creative critical pedagogy.
With a background in art and design, humanities, and social science, Michael has developed a growing track record of interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral creative health research collaborations with colleagues both within and outside academia. His work is aimed at transforming the culture of care through creativity.
He has served as a grant reviewer for organisations such as The Leverhulme Trust (UK), AHRC (UK), and NAC (Singapore). He has also acted as a PhD examiner, guest editor, and reviewer for international peer-reviewed journals focusing on the intersection of creative practice, health, and wellbeing, including Arts and Health, Wellcome Open Research, The Gerontologist, and Frontiers. Additionally, he has held roles as an external examiner and advisory committee member, such as for Arts and Health at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, and has served on the advisory board of the journal Design for Health.
Michael is currently the Dean of Research and Knowledge Exchange at the University of the Arts, Singapore, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Prior to this role, he was Associate Professor in Art and Design at Lab4Living at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), UK. During his tenure at SHU, he developed the new MA in Design for Health programme and supported postgraduate education at both PhD and MA levels. He was selected from a UK-wide open call to join the inaugural National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) GROW Mental Health Research Programme (Summer 2022 cohort), and was a visiting research fellow (Summer 2022) at the Centre for Arts, Design, Social Research for Cosmological Gardens: Cultivating Caring Cultures.
