City of Lugano-Cultural Department

The project Culture and Health, presented in March 2020, aims to value artistic and cultural practices and projects whose goal is to improve the physical and mental well-being of people and communities. Moreover, the project:
-facilitates the use of the Arts and Culture as tools for promoting health and preventing illness, as supports for treatment trajectories and relationships
-promotes and supports the spread of Culture and Health for knowledge, research, and specialized training; the development of projects and good practices by sharing existing opportunities and generating favorable new conditions
-stimulates dialogue and cooperation between the sectors of culture, social assistance, and health care with a view to enhancing social quality and sustainable development.
Amongst its many developed projects, Culture & Health launched the First Swiss Forum on the subject in 2021, which will be followed by biennial encounters. Since 2021 the project has also developed a yearly academic course in Culture and Health in collaboration with the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of USI. Lastly, Culture and Health has developed a Fund in support of partnership projects involving artists and healthcare structures in order to develop cultural activities that take place at sites where healthcare is provided.
Additional information on the project is available on our site, which also contains a number of selected best practices carried out over the last 10 years.