Research Stream: Symposium
Author: Elodie Makhoul, Research Assistant, Protecting the Right to Culture of Persons with Disabilities and Enhancing Cultural Diversity in EU Law: Exploring New Paths (DANCING)
On November 14-15, Culture Action Europe, leader of the Culture and Health platform, an initiative funded by the European Union (EU), hosted a two full-day conference to discuss the potential for culture to support and benefit the health and wellbeing of people. This initiative epitomises the importance of culture for well-being and the role that the EU can play in ‘supporting artists working at the intersection of culture, health, and social sectors across Europe’. The platform responds to the recommendations of the CultureForHealth Report (2022), which indicates, inter alia, the need to support the role of culture for well-being and health as well as to map good practices.
While the definition of wellbeing is frequently debated, wellbeing is most often associated with health, both mental and physical, however, wellbeing can also manifest in various other ways. Indeed, Eurofound describes subjective wellbeing as how people perceive the quality of their lives, and overall happiness, pointing to an emotional assessment of how individuals might feel. Another vision of wellbeing could be assimilated to encompass social inclusion and cohesion. Over the past few years, a great amount of research has emerged, linking the impact of cultural life on wellbeing and the way in which engaging in cultural activities could lead to achieving a healthier life. The research argues that culture can positively impact various aspects such as physical health and mental health; social inclusion; subjective wellbeing; and even contribute to engaged, resilient communities.
According to a World Health Organisation Report, participating in culture such as arts-based activities can involve different types of engagement mechanisms that facilitate health and wellbeing outcomes. For example, the studies led by Culture for Health demonstrate that many different health-benefits can come out of cultural activities, such as:
music and singing, which would help alleviate stress and anxiety, and promote social engagement and connection;
dancing, which can foster social engagement and physical activity;
photography and film, good for stress-reduction and self-expression;
or even visiting heritage sites and museums which can play an important role for social inclusion and general knowledge.
Culture has the potential to be a great motor in building social cohesion, developing new means of communication and empowering people. Furthermore, while participating in culture can benefit the general public, cultural involvement, such as arts-based activities might actually be even more helpful for individuals with various physical or mental conditions. For example, a report by the What Words Centre for Wellbeing that focused on arts projects for people with clinically diagnosed mental health issues found that, ‘projects based on engaging with visual arts in non-clinical settings show that such engagement can be liberating, and transformative – in “normalising” ways – for participants’. The research was found to help reduce social isolation and improve confidence. Indeed, a huge aspect of human wellbeing lies in experiencing a sense of belonging by engaging in social spaces which encourages collaboration through art-based activities.
Article 6 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU states that the Union only has supporting competence in the area of culture (and also in relation to health), however, it incorporates several initiatives to promote wellbeing, notably through culture. Indeed, €95.5 billion between 2021-2027 have been mobilised for EU funded Horizon Europe projects, some of which aim to stimulate innovation and the use of new technology but within the creative and cultural industries such as the New European Bauhaus, which is discussed in this symposium by Alessia Palladino. The EU has also placed a focus on access to culture for persons with disabilities, which is emerging as a distinct theme of cultural policy. As noted by Ferri and Subic in an article published back in 2022, this links to different objectives, one of them being ‘social inclusion’, and even more broadly, ‘wellbeing for all’. In that regard, the DANCING project which investigates the intersection of cultural participation of persons with disabilities and cultural diversity in the EU, recognises that upholding the right to participate in cultural life of persons with disabilities contributes to wellbeing of all and to better social cohesion. While this multifaceted and multilayered project has a distinct focus, it provides important findings such as that supporting the right to equal access to culture for people with disabilities, may further contribute to broader research on the role of culture in ensuring wellbeing for all in society.
