Mapping of Initiatives on Culture, Health and Well-being

Time for Reading has taken the form of a partnership project between the Reading Association, Central Denmark Region, Aarhus University and five municipalities in the region (Holstebro, Viborg, Ikast-Brande, Herning and Horsens). The project involved collaboration between libraries and health centres, and it offered reading groups to promote mental health, for people affected by depression or stress. The reading groups were facilitated by reading guides trained in the Reading Association and took place in the aforementioned five municipalities. Participants in the reading groups were searched via the health centers. They were men and women between the ages of 18 and 60 who could be referred to reading groups as part of prevention. These were people with mild to moderate depression, stress, anxiety or people with mental dissatisfaction due to a physical illness. Besides the reading groups, Time for Reading also had a research dimension. The practices carried out in the reading groups using the guided joint reading method were tested in relation to mental well-being, symptomatology and social cognition. In this way, an evidence base was created for future interventions, which both actors in the cultural and health sectors, municipalities and the Reading Association will benefit from.

The Sound Art E-motion Association is a Romanian NGO which sustains the complementary therapies, the therapeutic work with music and other arts for prevention and intervention, in order to increase the life quality of the beneficiaries, to represent their professional interests and to sustain the practitioners activity.

Considering the burdening of the Covid 19 pandemic, Bozar explored within the Art & Well-being European project how arts and culture can help us to cope in this confusing and threatening world. In this framework they organized a debate and invited a series of interesting speakers, including Dirk De Wachter, Luc Van Gorp, Kristine Timperman, Nils Fietje, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven and Julie Rodeyns to explore together the concept of arts on prescriptions (i.e. doctors to prescribe a book or a film instead of pills when symptoms of depression or distraught are manifested) and its potential to be implemented at Bozar.

A one-year pilot program started in 2018 in Montreal, through which the doctors recommended an unusual treatment—a prescription to visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, by offering patients and their caregivers or family members free admission to the museum. Any doctor who was a member of the Médecins francophones du Canada could participated in the program, writing up to 50 museum prescriptions per year, each one good for two adults and up to two children.
The program was an extension of the MMFA’s existing work in the field of medicine, which in 2017 saw the museum found an Art and Health Committee. The institution is involved in 10 art and health-related clinical trials, studying the effects of art on patients suffering from conditions such as eating disorders, breast cancer, epilepsy, mental illness, and Alzheimer’s disease.

In 2021, the Brussels-City councillor in charge of culture and tourism launched a three-month museum prescriptions initiative involving the CHU Brugmann psychiatry department prescribing patients visits to the five public museums in Brussels: The Sewer Museum, The Brussels City Museum, The Fashion & Lace Museum, the Centrale Museum for Contemporary Art and The GardeRobe MannekenPis Museum. The concept of ‘museum prescriptions’ refers to the practice of doctors prescribing culture as a treatment for patients suffering from stress, burnout, mental illness and anxiety. Naturally, it is not an alternative to tried and tested medical approaches, instead it is supposed to function as a supplement. The cultural initiative was aimed to alleviate some of the pent up stress from the pandemic and social distancing measures.

The forum offers the opportunity to present best practices, discuss and share experiences among practitioners, and engage in dialogue with experts and decision makers about institutional collaborations and support structures needed to scale up cultural well-being projects and interventions. The Culture and Well-being Forum was initiated by the Cluj Cultural Centre in 2018. The 2021 edition of the Forum was organised within the Art & Well-being European project and included conference panels and inspirational talks, case studies, workshops, policy discussions and an artistic programme.

During the Eurocities Culture Forum 2021, a year when health was on everyone’s minds, this link between culture and well-being was the number-one question for cities. During this event was explored the complex relation between culture and wellbeing, the effects that the cultural experiences can have on the health and quality of life. This is a relation that each city handles differently, whether through social prescriptions for art events in London, through the ‘culture vitamins’ programme in Aarhus that aims to use cultural events to motivate people to find employment, or Barcelona’s work tackling gender inequality through culture.

Switch2move is one of the leading organizations that is committed to the well-being of older people. Switch2move wants to create a better daily life for the elderly and in particular for people with health issues such as dementia and Parkinson. Switch2move is committed to these groups by offering combined exercise programs with the aim of improving: physical functions, thinking ability and general health. Switch2move gets people moving, using their own strength, so that strengths, weaknesses and needs are expressed in the movement. Self-direction and own strength are not self-evident for everyone and people are guided in this with the help of dance and music. The active aging programs lead to physical, mental and social improvements and caregivers see the effects - more fun and connection, less stress.

Cultural & Mental Health international conference is taking place in Ghent, Belgium on 24 and 25 November 2022. This conference seeks to promote learning, discussion and debate around cultural interventions aimed at improving the well-being of people recovering from mental health difficulties or people in a vulnerable situation. Studies show the positive effect on well-being and health of both active and passive art and culture participation – from listening to music and reading a book to visiting a museum or dancing. Cultural participation is not only good for our well-being, but also has a preventive effect to prevent certain mental and physical complaints. This conference wants to bring together individuals from the public, academic, third sector and voluntary sectors, to share experiences, practices and knowledge about the importance and impact of the arts, reading, heritage and creativity on improving mental health, well-being and resilience.

Alzheimer’s Society is the UK’s leading dementia charity, which campaign for change, fund research to find a cure and support people living with dementia today. Singing for the Brain is a programme of Alzheimer’s Society that brings people affected by dementia together to sing a variety of songs they know and love, in a fun and friendly environment. We also do vocal exercises that help improve brain activity and wellbeing. They are offering a range of ways to access Singing for the Brain – either over the internet using Zoom, face-to-face or over the phone (Ring and Sing).