Arts and Well-being
In all its conversations, EFA puts the artistic dialogue forward, and the place of festivals, and the arts, in society including most recently festivals’ potential or task to nurture health and well-being - within their teams, among their audiences, and in the wider communities they serve.
Arts, festivals, and cultural activities have proved to be essential for building healthier societies and promoting well-being. The CultureForHealth report reviewed 310 studies and confirmed the positive impact of culture on both individual and community health, aligning with similar findings from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Cultural activities can work alongside traditional medical care to enhance emotional well-being, strengthen social bonds, and support healthier communities. The festivals’ community contributes to this task and has expressed a desire to better integrate well-being into what festivals do and their ways of working and in this way improve living and working conditions and well-being of artists, festival makers and their teams.
CARE - Culture for Mental Health
In the framework of the Creative Europe-supported project CARE – Culture for Mental Health carried out by an international consortium led by the Cluj Cultural Centre and joined by seven partners across Europe, EFA has the chance to delve deeper into the topic of arts and well-being.
The CARE project aims to harness the potential of arts and cultural experiences to improve mental health and well-being for youth, working-age individuals, and people with disabilities. By bringing together stakeholders from culture, health, education, and business, the initiative develops innovative strategies that provide both personal and systemic solutions. These efforts focus on enhancing access to and participation in cultural activities across Europe, addressing the pressing challenge of mental health, which affects over 85 million EU citizens.
The time we spend together
The pilot retreat and workshop “The Time We Spend Together”, hosted by the Varna Summer International Music Festival in 2023, was a key moment for EFA in understanding the need to address the topic of well-being within the festival community. Over three days, festival makers came together to discuss how festivals can better support their teams, artists, and audiences while managing the challenges of their work.
Related information
Festivals Care: Arts Festivals Summit 2025
As part of the Culture for Mental Health project, EFA is exploring how art festivals contribute to mental health and well-being. At the 2025 Arts Festivals Summit, EFA hosted the workshop The Festivals Care! Arts and Health. The conversation continues on 20 May at the Mental Health Summit in the European Parliament.
EFA part of the CARE Project on Arts and Well-being
The CARE – Culture for Mental Health project harnesses the transformative power of arts and cultural participation to improve mental health and well-being across Europe.
The aftermath of ‘The Time We Spent Together’ in Varna
A letter from Ana to EFA and the participants of this time spent together.
The time we spend together
Arts, festivals and well-being, or the sense of the arts, the art of awareness, caring & community building. At the invitation of the Varna Summer International Music Festival in the framework of the International Symposium from 1 – 3 September 2023.