CARE - Culture for Mental health
Mental health challenges are on the rise across Europe, affecting over 85 million people. The CARE – Culture for Mental Health project offers a fresh, creative approach to this crisis, enhancing social transformation through culture. By integrating arts and culture into mental health strategies, CARE aims to contribute to the health and well-being of youth, working adults, and vulnerable communities across Europe.
As a legacy of the CultureForHealth and Art & Well-Being projects, CARE has the premises to develop capacity building activities for cultural and partner sectors, to set up arts and health social innovation laboratories and advocate at the European and national levels on the potential of art and cultural experiences to enhance mental health and well-being.
Stakeholders from culture, health, education, and business collaborate to create innovative approaches proposing individual and structural solutions to increase the mental health and well-being through access and participation in culture.
Key Directions
| LEARN: Knowledge Sharing, Capacity Building, Cross-sector Dialogue Capacity building in cultural and partner sectors (health, social care, education, business) through training sessions, expert panels, workshops, and counselling. The project establishes a community of practice via an Arts and Health think tank and festival makers’ working group. It also develops a digital catalogue of artworks on health and well-being. | INNOVATE: Social Innovation Laboratories The project sets up arts and health social innovation laboratories focusing on youth mental health, culture and work-related well-being, and culture on prescription and accessibility for people with disabilities. Guidelines and toolkits are prepared to support transnational transfer of piloted models. | SHARE: Engagement, Networking, Advocacy The project organises six CultureForHealth mobile hubs, a travelling festival-like event across European cities. It boosts awareness, cross-sector exchange and showcases relevant artworks. In addition, advocacy actions inform policy recommendations presented to local, national and EU decision-makers. An international Culture and Well-being forum and EU-wide communication campaigns provide the means for onsite and online dissemination of the outcomes. |
Topics
Throughout its activities, the project tackles five important topics:
- Youth mental health
- Work-related well-being
- Culture on prescription
- The well-being of artists
- Festivals engagement with social well-being and health
Operating in five countries, CARE will directly involve over 1500 people in participatory arts activities, train over 600 professionals and raise awareness among an estimated one million people. Through innovative policy recommendations, toolkits and advocacy, the project aspires to leave a lasting legacy on cultural and health policies in Europe.
Activities Organised by EFA
Festivals Care: Arts Festivals Summit 2025
EFA is exploring how art festivals contribute to mental health and well-being. EFA hosted a workshop on this topic at the Arts Festivals Summit Edinburgh and was present at the Mental Health Summit in the European Parliament.
Together in Care: Well-being of Artists and Festivals
In a session dedicated to reflecting on well-being across the festival landscape, artists and festival makers came together to explore how care can be more meaningfully and structurally embedded into festivals.
Festivals Care Working Group
The Festivals Care! working group is dedicated to exploring the intersection of arts, health, and well-being within the festival sector. It serves as a peer-learning space where the participants can reflect, exchange ideas, share challenges, and provide mutual support to each other, allowing members to reflect on their own well-being while also working towards the sector as a whole.
EFA aims to offer participants the space and flexibility to shape the process based on their own needs and interests. It is steered by EFA and supported by two experts: Dr. Rarita Zbranca and Mahir Namur.
Activities by Our Partners
Conferences
- 29 September - 2 October 2025 - Research and Practice conference, CultureAndHealth Platform showcasing event, Turku, Finland
- 28-30 October 2025 – Care and Sustainable Working Practices in the Arts, Cluj, Romania
- 26-27 February 2026 - Culture, Health & Wellbeing Conference, Leuven
- October 2026 – 2028 - CultureAndHealth Platform conferences and showcasing
Online Roundtables for Artists
- 22.09.2025 | 12.00 – 13.30 CET on Crafts
- 09.10.2025 | 14.00 – 15.30 CET on Photography & Film
- 22.10.2025 | 10.00 – 11.30 CET
Online Awareness raising for Health sector
Culture and Health for All: From European Visions to Local Implementation
24.09.25 | 10.00 - 11.30 CET
Campaigns
More arts, more wellbeing
Project Consortium
- Cluj Cultural Centre
- European Festivals Association
- Arts for Health Austria
- Centre for Fine Arts | Bozar
- Culture Action Europe
- Društvo Asociacija
- Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture
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