CultureForHealth is a project co-funded by the European Commission with partners from all over Europe: Culture Action Europe, Trans Europe Halles, Central Denmark Region, The Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture, Cluj Cultural Centre, and Društvo Asociacija.
The CultureForHealth project has launched a new, free-to-use, large-scale and easily accessible map and directory of Arts and Health projects and programs in Europe and around the world with more than 500 inspiring cases and growing.
Culture and health is a growing phenomenon throughout the world, where collaborations between the arts, culture and health sectors provide new opportunities for health and cultural life for citizens at all stages of life. The large-scale European project CultureForHealth has now launched a brand new digital map and directory where you can find inspiring projects from all over Europe, covering everything from street-art in hospitals in Italy, art activities against burnout in workplaces in Romania and hospital clowns in the warzones of Ukraine.
CultureForHealth brings researchers, practitioners and policymakers together to generate knowledge, research and fieldwork in order to trigger cross-sectoral cooperation and policies that enhance well-being through culture. The initiative will also institute six pilot projects in Denmark, Italy, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia aiming at the “management and treatment” of illnesses as well as “prevention and promotion” for a variety of life stages and age groups.
CultureForHealth: A worldwide perspective of resilience, mental health and social inclusion
The CultureForHealth mapping is an exhaustive initiative that aims to provide a more concrete image of the national, regional and local programs, initiatives and projects on culture, well-being and health across the European Union and around the world. At this very moment, the mapping includes around 500 initiatives, most of them from European countries, but also from North America, South America and Australia. The mapping includes experimental, grass root pilot projects, long term sustainable projects, but also strategic projects implemented at national, regional or EU level. All these initiatives are available in an online open-access directory, which can serve as a learning tool for decision makers, practitioners and researchers interested in delivering culture and arts for public health and individual and community well-being. The directory of initiatives on culture, well-being and health across the European Union and other countries is available here.
A cooperation in more than 24 languages
The mapping is an ongoing process, so everyone who knows an initiative on culture, well-being and health can make use of the Share Your Project feature of the project website to add new initiatives. Data from the directory was collected through an online open call, in which people were invited to add their projects, but also through a desk research activity, carried out in more than 24 languages, involving around 15 researchers and enthusiasts on the theme of culture, health and well-being. Each of the submitted projects is reviewed and edited, if needed, before being published.
Contributions will be used in European policy recommendations
The CultureForHealth project aims to offer a curated directory of initiatives on culture, well-being and health and based on the research carried out within the project to deliver bottom-up policy recommendations on this topic. There are several very interesting initiatives at European level that can be mentioned as best practices on culture, health and well-being.
Read more and contribute to the mapping here.
