The “ARC” conference explores the intersection of art, music, and the health sciences, centered on the lived experience of pregnancy and everything that accompanies it on a physical, psychological, and social level. Through an interdisciplinary approach, it highlights how music, psychology, psychiatry, and obstetrics converse with one another, shedding light on issues such as memory, emotion, the body, loss, motherhood, and psychological resilience.

In the artistic segment of the conference, Nikos Giousef presents the musical experience “The Memory of Vibration,” an experiential journey through the distinctive sound of the musical saw. Music serves as a common meeting point for body, memory, and emotion, inviting the audience into an experience of inner observation and connection, where sound becomes a vehicle for experiences that often transcend words.

The conference’s scientific curation is led by Dr. Diamantis Toutountzidis, a specialist psychotherapist, consultant, and trainer in the Open Dialogue approach, head of the Health Crisis Line, and Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. His presentation highlights the importance of open dialogue and the connection between scientific knowledge and artistic experience as means of understanding the human experience.

Also participating in the conference are: musicologist and music therapist Matina Karastatira, who will speak about the connection between music and emotion and music’s contribution to psychological resilience; Professor Stamatina Iliodromiti, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, who will present the modern medical approach to pregnancy, choices, social influences, and best care practices; Dr. Maria Iliopoulou, Chartered Clinical Psychologist, Trauma & Crisis Specialist, Mindfulness & DBT Trainer, who examines contemporary psychotherapeutic approaches to perinatal trauma, anxiety management, and the therapeutic role of creative expression; and Dr. Christos Kouimtsidis, Consultant Psychiatrist at the National Health Service, Senior Lecturer at the Imperial College of London, and Senior Lecturer at the University of St. Andrews, who addresses issues concerning substance use during the perinatal period, social vulnerability, stigma, and possibilities for support and change.

The conference aspires to be a space for meaningful dialogue between science and art, where music functions not as an accompanying element but as an equal form of knowledge and expression. Through the presentations and the live musical experience, pregnancy is highlighted not only as a biological process but as a profound human experience that touches on memory, the body, emotion, mental health, and one’s relationship with oneself and others.