Mapping of Initiatives on Culture, Health and Well-being

Space with Love Foundation is working on a design to improve the hospital spaces and improve the well-being of oncologic patients, by creating a better space for them when receiving treatment or waiting for results in the oncology unit. The organisation was already involved in the renovation of 2 other spaces in the Mazowieckie Centre of Oncology in Wieliszew.

A series of sessions for the youngest children up to age 6 in which music is seen as an essential tool of development, shaping a child's emotions and sensitivity to the world around them. The workshops are also carefully designed to have a calming effect and also such that it can help improve relations of children with parents. The expected result is a positive impact on children's social and emotional development, emotional calming, building bonds between children and parents.

Focusing on ideas of openness, cultural accessibility and societal fairness, cultural organisations in Gdansk have put on a programme of events. The programme includes participation of art therapists and psychologists in a spirit of fostering better social relations, events tailored for and exploring the participation of physically and intellectually disabled people in cultural events and in public life, and a debate entitled "Culture as a Bridge for Dialogue between people". The festival is focusing on the promotion of inclusive culture, sharing best practices in how to foster inclusivity as well as building integration between different social groups through various events at the festival.

A competition for the youngest children to draw a 'smogeater', a character who will fight against smog. The winning design will be used a a graphic symbol by the Voivodeship in their official materials for young children, educating them about the harm to health brought by smog. This project is using art to raise awareness of the problem of smog amongst children and promote environmental protection, developing creativity in children as well as promoting citizenship values.

A theatre show about young people's struggles with depression, how depression is viewed by the medical profession and to what the word is associated with for many people. The aim is to break taboos surrounding the topic of depression, to encourage conversation and dialogue about people's individual experiences of depression.

SURVIVAL Art Review is an artistic undertaking intended to maximize the confrontation with the audience in a public space outside art galleries. The organizers’ ambition is to introduce problems raised in young art into public discourse and to provoke the audience to a lively response. Artists taking part in SURVIVAL take the challenge to realize their projects in the urban jungle, in public buildings and in open spaces. The 2022 year’s festival slogan refers to the multitude of meanings hidden under the term “PILLS”. It is, among others, the metaphor of the blue and red pills from the cult movie “The Matrix”, a reference to psychoactive substances or inducing altered states of consciousness. All issues are related to the history of cultural, social and political changes, such as the progressing mental health crisis in Poland which affects an increasing number of people. The reflection on the subject of mental health in social issues is also be deepened in the form of expert debates that accompany the main exhibition. The festival invites artists to submit works that address the contemporary meanings of consciousness in a wide array of contexts, from both systemic and social perspectives, offering alternatives or carefully examining various mental and cognitive states. The 20th edition of SURVIVAL will take place in the former Betania hospital in Wroclaw.

Competition organised for 19 years with entries from participants of art therapy workshops, community centres and disabled residents of social welfare housing centres. Many local cultural centres also organised exhbitions of the winning entries from their voivodeships. The event promotes the activity of people with disabilities and people at risk of social exclusion in the public life and cultural events.

A private medical clinic has opted for an interior design in which the health benefits of art are recognised and placed at the centre of the design, through the original work of two artists. A dynamic holistic sculpture was settled at the centre of the clinic and paintings in the waiting area. The artistic proposal for the medical clinic was co-designed with two artists. Every detail was carefully chosen to make the space holistic, especially because in the clinic the patient well-being is promoted.

Collaboration between the Babinski Hospital in Krakow and the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts provided the interinstitutional framework for designing an well-being space for the Mental Health Center for Children and Youth in the South of Krakow. The aim was to improve the medical experience of children with mental health and psychiatric disorders. This specific action was carried out by students of the Faculty of Interior Design, under the supervision of their professors. The students have done their practicum modules at the hospital, and prepared graphic designs for the needs of social campaigns carried out.

A collaboration between the hospital and the MOCAK Gallery of Modern Art in Krakow on an exhibition of carefully curated paintings. The director of the hospital described it as the start of the collaboration and stated his desire that art should have a permanent place in the hospital building and that interacting with art has an undisputed beneficial impact on the recovery process. The opening of the exhibition was accompanied by a talk by a psychologist about the concept of art therapy and these works from the MOCAK collection will enable art therapy at the University Hospital. In this way, there will be an improved patient experience through interaction with art and art therapy will be recognised more widely in hospital settings.