Resources

- Find out about how cultural interventions can support positive health and well-being outcomes

- Get inspired by the models of the CultureForHealth pilot projects (and more)

- Draw on guidance to equip your organisation for the journey towards a culture-based project for health

- Dive deeper into the topic through recommendations for further reading

The aim of this report is to synthesise existing evidence on the positive effect of arts and cultural activities on health and well-being.

This means the report is not limited to a few research questions but seeks to provide a clear indication of the volume of existing literature, the key concepts, focus points and the types of studies that exist.

It also identifies knowledge gaps in the existing literature.

Finally, it gathers policy recommendations and identifies challenges, further expanding the scope of the report beyond the proposed policy directions and specific policy measures.

This is a directory of initiatives on culture, well-being and health across the European Union and other countries. It includes relevant policies, projects and programmes carried out at local, regional, national, European and international level. It serves as a learning tool for decision makers, practitioners and researchers interested in leveraging arts for public health and individual and community well-being.

This report is oriented towards presenting information collected in the online directory, summarizing the key aspects revealed through a quantitative analysis. The report aims to underline information that could be relevant in understanding the culture for health and well-being landscape in Europe and worldwide, and to define new directions for action at micro and macro level.

This publication presents in brief the effects of the 6 pilot projects, captured by research teams that have accompanied the implementation of the interventions in their local contexts.

Initiated by and in collaboration with the CultureForHealth project, the World Health Organization issued a publication on how arts activities can improve the mental well-being of forcibly displaced people. It also provides calls to action to everyone involved in responding to humanitarian crises, including health workers, policy-makers, relief workers, cultural organizations, arts therapists and artists.

This manifesto serves as a rallying call to artists, cultural organisations and professionals to embrace a politics and ethics of care as a fundamental element of our collective work. 

We firmly believe that care is a universal human need that too often remains overlooked and undervalued. Thus, we assume the responsibility to champion care as a cornerstone of our endeavours, bridging societal gaps, promoting solidarity, and challenging the prevailing inequalities that afflict our communities. By prioritising care, we envision a world where empathy, compassion, and a sense of interconnectedness can flourish.

Will be available soon

Our project partner Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture (NDPC) together with the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS) have developed “Talking Points: Arts and Health in Communities”.

The guide is about arts-based interventions that combine medical and cultural approaches with the aim of offering support to arts and health practitioners interested in creative approaches to wellbeing. Talking Points included in the guide are based on lessons learned in the “Art of Staying Healthy:” pilot projects. The guide is a significant milestone for both the NDPC and NDPHS and has been launched within an interactive online event “Approaches to culture and health cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region”.

In order to understand how and why the arts affect us and lead to positive health outcomes, the Social Biobehavioral Research Group at University College London (SBRG) uses the principles of complexity science to conceptualize relationships between the components of art activities and the processes that these components activate – named the mechanisms of action.

By grouping their findings into three groups; Childhood, Adults, Older adults, the SBRG describes multiple avenues of practice for preventing, treating, and managing physical and mental health, and finally offers their view on 'Five Areas of Action'.