Activities
Globally the proposed project is an opportunity to federate concurrent programs or ambitions of different cultural partners across Europe under the theme of Art&Well-being. This involves working to extend or develop existing projects to reach new audiences, the sharing of best practices and developing new and innovative pilot interventions that contribute to individual and community well-being. Activities are divided into an artistic programme and a capacity building, advocacy, research and dissemination programme.
The programme is designed to be both top-down and bottom-up, recognizing the experience, expertise and the artists, organisations and researchers with the necessary know-how, building and involving field experts and partners as much as possible to create new interventions and artworks both extending existing projects and creating new opportunities to engage individuals and groups while fostering well-being through the arts.
Capacity Building and Advocacy Programme
Research
Artistic Programme
The main purpose of Art&Well-being Think Tank is to bring together community leaders from relevant fields including culture, health, urban planners and to develop a working group in Art & Well-Being field. The Think Tank represents a meeting between experts from several fields that contribute to the research and elaboration of the methodology and tools used in the experimental activities developed within the program.
Artistic programme
(CO)CREATION: Artistic projects/commissions
New artworks and cultural interventions will be executed, bringing the arts to people and places where it is often absent, such as hospitals, care centres or retirement homes, as well as in schools, youth or seniors’ clubs, universities, community centres and public spaces; bringing individuals, groups and partner organizations that work with underserved groups to the partner cultural institutions; while facilitating co-creation and exchange between individuals and communities.
ACCESS: Cultural prescriptions (or well-being vouchers)
A small scale pilot programme enabling access to culture will enable local care providers to add culture to the mix of care regimen prescribed for patients afflicted with mental or physical health issues. A dedicated number of tickets for pre-selected exhibitions, concerts and cultural events in Cluj, Brussels and Maribor, will be available to be redeemed in exchange for ‘cultural prescriptions.’ These prescriptions will be available for care providers to distribute in addition to or instead of more ‘traditional’ care treatments.
SPACE: Experimental spaces for arts, body and mind
It envisages the creation of new spaces within cultural centres dedicated to experimentation at the intersection of the arts, body and mind. The dedicated spaces will be designed together with artists, architects and cultural workers to foster mindful reflection and to provide a healing refuge from demands of modern life. Following experts’ guidelines on designing conscious soundscapes and spaces in cities and public institutions, this specific activity aims to raise awareness on the level and quality of the sounds and visual stimuli in our daily environments, and engage artists to create environments that offer people refuge from the daily sensorial overstimulation.
Capacity Building and Advocacy Programme
Artists and scientists in dialogue workshops
Local Workshops in Cluj, Brussels, Maribor – as conversations between artists, cultural workers, local experts and researchers. These local workshops are foreseen as capacity building opportunities, uniting relevant stakeholders to exchange around local best practices at punctual moments.
Art&Well-being Forums
Art&Well-being Forums are public events combining conference panels and talks, with artistic showcases, and advocacy for integration of cultural processes and formats that support well-being into urban policies. The aim of these forums is to generate dialogue and to facilitate knowledge about existing research, to present the best practices and also to showcase existing artworks and projects in the field.