This post was updated Nov. 20 at 9:33 p.m.

Art MEDified is bridging arts and sciences together through workshops, education and service.

Art MEDified aims to merge health literacy and arts while fostering a community of advocacy and outreach. Art MEDified was founded in 2024 by Ashley Hodge – a third-year student studying Central and East European languages and cultures, as well as molecular, cell and developmental biology. Hodge, who attended a charter arts school from seventh to 12th grade, said she wanted to merge her two interests – art and health literacy – in a way that has never been done before. This led to the creation of Art MEDified, which meets Thursdays at 6 p.m. in La Kretz Hall 100.

“I hope that any UCLA student who wants to be a part of our organization will get to find that they – as an individual – personally matter to the organization,” Hodge said. “I hope we are an organization where you’ll join, and you’re not just a cog in the machine. You’ll get to present your ideas, and they will become part of our activities.”

This welcoming atmosphere that Hodge aims for has been true for Jenna Hofmann, a second-year biology student. Hofmann said she is now co-marketing chair and engagement lead. She said she learned of the club through flyering on Bruin Walk. Hofmann added that she would describe Art MEDified as inspiring, creative and ever-changing. Hofmann said one thing she has taken away from her experience with Art MEDified is its growth and impact on students at UCLA.

The club also hosts various art workshops, which are meant to promote health literacy to the local community, Hofmann said. Art MEDified has completed numerous events and projects since the organization’s establishment in 2024, including a nutrition magazine, a presentation on health insurance and the club’s slime workshop, which Hofmann said was a very popular event.

“I really enjoyed the slime-making event because the room was so filled with life and energy,” Hodge said. “I just love being in a room with so much laughter, and so that was really special to me.”

Hofmann said members were taught about blood and its different components using glue to represent plasma and eventually slime to represent blood as a whole. The workshops teach practical health skills while also creating a supportive and fun community where students can meet new people through education, Hofmann added.

Beyond on-campus events, Art MEDified runs a research camp during the summer known as C.R.A.F.T. Research Scholars to provide both high school and college students around the world with research experience relevant to health literacy. Hodge said when she participated in a similar research program before C.R.A.F.T.’s founding, she saw many opportunities to deepen people’s experiences. Instead of participating in research programs where participants only write one small part of a research paper, she said she wanted to create something where students could write the entire research abstract and gain truly valuable experience. This past summer, C.R.A.F.T. reached five continents and 23 countries, with over 300 registered participants.

“When I was in that program, I saw a lot of opportunities in order to deepen what people were getting out of it,” Hodge said. “I think it would be a really valuable experience if everyone got to write every section of the research abstract themselves, if everyone was guaranteed feedback from someone who knew what they were talking about. And so that is what we started on, and we then added in the fun bonus of making it free.”

While Art MEDified continues to grow its programs and reach globally, the tight-knit community created on campus remains at the center of the organization, Hodge said. One way the club continues to cultivate this sense of community, Hodge added, is through its one-on-one hangout program, which helps new volunteers feel welcomed. Hodge said she has planned hangouts with new volunteers, such as going to Diddy Riese or painting canvases.

Ellena Wang, a second-year biochemistry major and co-fundraising chair of Art MEDified’s finance committee, highlighted how the inclusive community is one of her favorite aspects of the organization.

“I like how Art MEDified is such an inclusive community that allows people of any major to join, which I know a lot of pre-med clubs are just solely focused on pre-med,” Wang said. “It’s good to have a little bit of a branching out.”

Art MEDified has already opened the school year with a Craft Your Health Fair and a Pre-Med 101 Workshop, with more to look forward to in the upcoming quarter, Hodge said. As Art MEDified grows at UCLA and beyond, Hofmann said she is proud of the number of people Art MEDified has been able to reach and impact and she cannot wait to see where the organization goes next.

“I want people to learn that they can take charge of their journey,” Hodge said. “Whether that’s their journey through health care spaces, through heightening their health literacy or by becoming a leader and making friends.”