The City as first remedy
On Sunday, June 22, I arrived in Groningen, a university town in the northern Netherlands located about two hours from Amsterdam. Its cultural vibrancy, expressed through festivals, urban installations, and shared spaces,greeted me like a first non-conventional medicine made of relationships, curiosity, and openness. I was there to attend an international Summer School on Arts in Health, organized by the University of Groningen in collaboration with Arts in Health Netherlands. What began as a training program quickly became a profound life experience—shaped by intercultural dialogue and interdisciplinary exchange.
Program and Collective Vision
The Summer School was structured around a systemic approach: bringing together universities, associations, artists, doctors, and policy makers—all stakeholders active in integrating art and health. The goal was twofold: generate scientific evidence of the benefits of arts in healing and prevention, and foster participatory, inclusive practices applicable in real-world contexts. This vision follows the principles outlined in the 2024 Dutch white paper, Arts in Health in the Netherlands, which emphasizes the need to establish art’s stable role in healthcare through long-term policy and cross-sector collaboration.
According to the document, art:
makes space for the human in us: when you are creative, your focus is no longer on being ill, but on what you can still do.
The challenge lies in translating this insight into institutional practice, moving beyond the current fragmentation of the field.
Personal Motivations and Expectations
Why did I choose this Summer School? I wanted to step outside the Italian context, engage with professionals from other countries, and see whether the challenges I faced were shared, or if alternative models and language existed. My aim was to discover common methodologies, new ideas, and replicable models.
Indeed, the group included 24 participants across Europe, coming from diverse backgrounds: policy makers, doctoral researchers, museum directors, doctors, visual artists, and musicians. This multidisciplinary mix created a living laboratory of sharing, creativity, and sometimes friction—fertile ground for learning and mutual enrichment.
Ethics and Governance in Arts in Health Projects
One of the most memorable moments centered on ethical considerations. During a facilitated session, each professional prioritized different aspects of the same project:
- The researcher emphasized empirical evidence.
- The physician focused on safety and clinical outcomes.
- The policy maker highlighted systemic impact and equity.
- The museum director valued experiential and aesthetic dimensions.
I presented the challenges I faced in submitting an environmental care project to a research ethics committee. This led to a nuanced discussion on the need for conscious, participatory governance in Arts in Health initiatives. We explored how to balance data collection with patient sensitivity, rights protection with experiential value.
Creative Movement: Restoring Dignity to the Body
To embody these abstract principles, we participated in a “creative movement” workshop led by an educator working with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s patients. Though labeled as dance, it was reimagined to suit non-professional, therapeutic needs—a deeply moving experience.
We learned how to restore agency and dignity to patients with tremors by replacing involuntary movements with symbolic gestures—e.g., lifting or “throwing” an imaginary ball. These simple actions serve not only physical but also psychological and emotional needs. They reflect a broader paradigm: art as a complement to medical intervention—not as mere entertainment but as meaningful, empowering engagement.
Such methods aren’t only therapeutic within clinical settings; they hold potential as primary prevention strategies, particularly in increasingly sedentary and stressful societies. As one facilitator put it, “sedentariness and loneliness are the new smoking”—a call to act.
Museums as Social Medicine
Our visit to the Groningen Museum offered yet another perspective: using contemporary art as a vehicle for social inclusion and well-being. In a site-specific, architecturally striking museum, we experienced a guided mediation: close observation, reflective writing in notebooks, personal storytelling, and group sharing.
I interpreted a painting of a fisherman and his two sad-faced children as a modern myth—like Aeneas carrying his family into a new chapter. My narrative was welcomed by museum educators, emphasizing that this was a moment of symbolic, collective care. This “social prescription” aligns with growing evidence—particularly in the UK—that museum participation reduces anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges.
Art, therefore, becomes integrated therapy—supporting but not replacing biomedical treatment.
Defining “Arts in Health”: Semantics and Culture
A semantic debate emerged during the Summer School. In Italian, arti typically refers to visual or fine arts. Yet in much of Europe, arts encompasses theatre, dance, music, storytelling, performance, and visual arts. In Italy, perhaps we should adopt “Culture for Health” to reflect the collective, inclusive, narrative nature of these practices. Culture is not just heritage or elite, but acts, relations, and identity—a way to reconstruct trauma, build belonging, and foster meaning.
Scientific Evidence and Best Practices
The Dutch white paper outlines a ten-year agenda to structurally integrate the arts into the national healthcare system:
- Establish national hubs and platforms to share tools, training, research, and networking.
- Embed Arts in Health programs into healthcare models and university curricula.
- Secure sustained funding rather than episodic grants.
- Develop standard evaluation criteria for outcomes, social impact, and cost-effectiveness.
Dutch studies show that:
- Participating in choirs or museum activities improves mental well-being and social cohesion.
- These interventions can reduce hospital readmissions and relieve staff stress.
- Population-based arts initiatives support preventive care in vulnerable communities.
Toward an Italian Model: Reflections and Prospects
My Groningen experience suggests several actionable steps for the Italian healthcare system:
- Semantic clarity: adopt “Culture for Health” to embrace multidisciplinary, community-based approaches.
- Interprofessional training: integrate modules on arts in health for artists, healthcare workers, and cultural managers.
- Participatory design: co-create interventions with communities using a structured, ethical model.
- Evidence generation: collaborate with universities to build robust, comparable data.
- Policy commitment: advocate for sustained public funding and clear evaluation guidelines.
A New Wave of Well-Being
Returning home, I carry with me the plural vision that this Summer School nurtured. I witnessed how a movement workshop can restore posture and emotion in a trembling body; how personal narratives offered in a museum can weave healing; how scientific, artistic, and social perspectives can unite to enhance well-being.
In a world where sedentariness and loneliness mirror the damage once done by tobacco, integrating art into healthcare is no longer utopian—it’s essential. Not to replace medicine, but to complement it critically. Because health is not only the absence of disease; it’s belonging, meaning, and shared humanity.
Culture for Health isn’t just a vision—it’s a practical, necessary step forward. With care, creativity, and courage, we can bring it to Italy’s healthcare landscape.
Carolina Zarrilli – PhD student in Medical Humanities and scientific curator
References:
- Arts in Health in the Netherlands – National Agenda (2024, febbraio). White paper. Arts in Health Netherlands. Disponibile su: https://www.artsinhealth.nl
Vedi anche: ilc-alliance.org, amsterdamumc.org - Lewis, R. & Krans, K. (2024, 13 febbraio). Art can help humanize healthcare. RUG Blog – University of Groningen.
Disponibile su: https://www.rug.nl/aletta/blog/art-can-help-humanize-healthcare - Medical Delta Program. Health Promotion with Arts and Culture. Medical Delta, Rotterdam.
Disponibile su: https://www.medicaldelta.nl/en/programmas-en-living-labs/society-prevention/medical-delta-program-health-promotion-with-arts-and-culture - World Health Organization – Health Evidence Network (HEN). The impact of culture on health and well-being (2019). WHO Regional Office for Europe.
Disponibile su: https://www.euro.who.int/en/publications/abstracts/the-impact-of-culture-on-health-and-well-being-a-rapid-evidence-review-2019