The Night of the Arts is more than just a fundraising event — it is a celebration of the arts and community, all for a good cause. The annual student-led event returned this year after a five-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing together performances from students, faculty, staff and professional performers and fostering a sense of unity while generating support for vital health care services in the community.
Held on Jan. 24 at the Holly Auditorium, the evening kicked off with a silent auction featuring works of art created and donated by faculty, students and staff, as well as a buffet dinner generously provided by local businesses and vendors. Attendees were then treated to a full playbill with performances ranging from classical string quartet pieces by the San Antonio Philharmonic Orchestra to energetic salsa dance routines by the Fuego y Agua dance troupe.
Supporting free health care for the community
Proceeds from Night of the Arts directly benefit the Student Faculty Collaborative Practice, a program out of the Charles E. Cheever Jr. Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics. This program operates free medical clinics across San Antonio. These clinics, led by students under faculty mentorship, provide much-needed health care while offering hands-on learning experiences for future health care professionals.
Richard Usatine, MD, professor in the Department of Medicine at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, established the university’s first student-run free clinic in 2005 and the Night of the Arts in 2006.
“The arts and humanities are an integral part of the Cheever Center, and it’s also something that is near and dear to my heart,” Usatine said. “As the faculty founder of the free clinic program, I felt strongly about using art, music and performance as a way to bring people together in our community to bring awareness to our clinics to help donate to their funding. But it has always been, first and foremost, an event that builds community.”
Patients from the student-run clinic at Alpha Home were invited to attend the event, complete with VIP treatment and front-row seating. Alpha Home is a non-profit, long-term substance abuse recovery center established in 1966. Alpha Home has had a partnership with the Student Faculty Collaborative Practice since 2005, when Usatine first established the free clinic (subsequently named the Usatine Wellness Center in his honor by Alpha Home). Alpha Home is the only women-specific drug treatment program in Bexar County and draws clients from all over the state.
“The impact of this partnership is one of the most valuable resources that Alpha Home has to offer our clients,” said Liza Jensen, LCSW-BCD, chief executive officer of Alpha Home. “Clients can receive needed medical care while remaining in a secure residential setting while they work through their drug and alcohol addiction. The care they receive at the clinic also helps to reduce the expenses associated with emergency room visits. For many of these women, this is the first time they have had wellness evaluations.”
The UT Health San Antonio medical students, residents, fellows and faculty provide a full range of care for women at Alpha Home including primary care, psychiatric care, physical therapy, women’s wellness exams and STI screenings.
The transformative power of the arts
For the university’s medical students, an event like Night of the Arts not only strengthens their ties to the community, but also provides them with a creative outlet. Engaging with the arts can offer relief from the intensity of medical training while also encouraging skills such as empathy, collaboration and connection — all of which are vital for patient care. Participation in the student-run free clinic program is an elective course offered through the Cheever Center, which emphasizes ethics, culture and the arts as essential aspects of holistic healing.
Sara Joshi is a second-year medical student who provides health care at the free practice. She also served as a student organizer for this year’s event and has seen first-hand how having experiences with fine arts can be therapeutic for the patients at Alpha Home.
“It’s a different way for them to engage their mind — not necessarily as a distraction, but as something new that can occupy their thoughts in a meaningful way,” Joshi said, noting that for many of the women, this is their first time seeing live string quartets, ballet dancing and other types of fine arts performances. “The arts can be used as a more holistic aspect of care. It’s not necessarily curative, but it can be mood-altering, perception-shifting — something that changes the way a person experiences life,” she said.
Isaac Johnson, another second-year medical student who helped organize the event, emphasized the event’s role in building community.
“It’s exciting that it’s back after the pandemic hiatus because it will allow future classes to continue this tradition or build on it — raising money, of course, but also strengthening the sense of community. It fosters relationships between patients, students and faculty, which I think is really valuable,” Johnson said.
Beyond its social impact, Johnson also spoke to the deeper healing power of the arts.
“Medicine is great at identifying what enzyme isn’t functioning properly or which gene is mutated, but at the end of the day, it can only do so much,” he said. “The arts — whether it’s music, painting or writing — help patients process emotions, find meaning and heal mentally and emotionally, sometimes even physically. So, I think the arts can play an essential role in medicine and patient care.”
Healing impact
The event had a particularly profound impact on the women of Alpha Home who were in attendance.
“A client cried during the Adele song ‘Hold On’ performed by staff member Trisha Trainum. I think the message about holding on resonated with her. Another client mentioned that she had never heard a piano piece like the Franz Liszt performance by student Jonathan Qi,” Jensen reported. “One of the clients told me that no one had ever given her a flower before, and she held on to the rose that Dr. Usatine gave her like it was the most precious thing in the world.”
Exposure to the arts and opportunities to build community in safe, substance-free environments play a crucial role in the healing process for the women of Alpha Home. Experiencing live performances, creative expression and a sense of belonging can help these women reconnect with themselves and envision new possibilities for their lives.
“One of the reasons that Night of the Arts is so important is that many individuals who have a substance use disorder do not know how to spend their leisure time without the use of substances,” Jensen said. “This event introduces classical music and dance, hobbies such as pottery, photography and painting, and many other creative and cultural experiences to our women.”
As Night of the Arts made its much-anticipated return, it reaffirmed its place as a tradition that not only raises funds for vital health care services but also enriches the community, offering students, staff, faculty and patients a night of inspiration, connection and healing.