The first Swiss forum of Cultura e Salute (Culture and Health) took place on November 26 at the Accademia di Architettura of the Università della Svizzera italiana in Mendrisio and on November 27, at the LAC in Lugano. The two-day meeting put at the centre of the debate the humanisation of care and its spaces and the presentation of scientific evidence and national and international good practices.
The goal of the first Swiss Forum was to promote an effective integration between the world of culture and that of health, in order to improve the quality of life, the well-being of people and the effectiveness of medical care, through a greater dissemination of research topics and the activation of new projects.
In addition to being an opportunity to present the empirical results and best practices conducted in Helsinki and Copenhagen by the WHO, as well as in the United Kingdom, the Forum was also an opportunity to present the five projects selected through a Call for Case Studies that invited
operators and experts to submit innovative experiences and initiatives.
The Canton Ticino responded with great enthusiasm, and three were the projects awarded: Patrizia Nalbach with "Scintille", Paolo Paolantonio with "Music in the community" and Roberta Pedrinis with Arteterapia nella riabilitazione del paziente oncologico (“Therapeutic art in the rehabilitation of cancer patients”).
Friday 26 November 2021 - Teatro dell’architettura Mendrisio (Accademia di Architettura of the Università della Svizzera italiana)
Saturday 27 November 2021 - LAC Art and Culture of Lugano
Silvia Misiti is the Director of IBSA Foundation for scientific research. She was the moderator and the co-organiser of the first swiss Forum Cultura e Salute.
Luigi Di Corato is the Director of the Cultural Division of the City of Lugano. He was the moderator and the co-organiser of the first swiss Forum Cultura e Salute.
Space feet, hands, words
Over the last 10 years or so, Riccardo Blumer's first-year atelier, which has involved between 70 and 120 students per semester, has always worked on the idea of "direct" and "temporary" architectural production carried out by the collegial "body" of students. Through specially made "instruments" and with sequential movement orders organized by voice, steps or "processions", relationships of meaning between space and the human social activities related to it have been experimented in a physical and direct way.
Architecture is memory
For thousands of years, people have organised their living space in such a way as to protect themselves as much as possible from the rigours of nature and to improve the quality of daily life. The profession of architects is concerned with giving living space a structure and shape that is appropriate to today's lifestyle. They transform the land into a cultural landscape and a built environment that provides our society with appropriate spaces for family, daily work, cultural activities, politics and communal rituals. If these spatial structures correspond in their form and expression to people's needs, then a sense of well-being is established. This is preferably in the area of what is familiar to us. Humanity's striving for a constant improvement of the living situation requires a willingness to take risks that lead to something new. The architects' search for a future and better environment moves between these poles.
Art at the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale of Lugano
Born in 2017 from a collaboration between the Museo d'Arte della Svizzera italiana in Lugano, the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale and private individuals, the exhibition project "In the public eye" originated from shared reflections among artists, architects, art historians and physicians, regarding the presence of works of art in daily life and in places of care, a theme that has been developed for years in many countries with experiences of various nature and breadth.
The presence of works of art in the public spaces of the hospital, in a context where feelings of fragility and vulnerability are experienced, can offer emotional support to those who are hospitalized, those who work there or those who visit, especially because art can communicate at a deep level that cannot be reached by words.
James Turrell a the Kinderspital di Zurigo
When dealing with particularly stressful situations, patients, relatives and the staff themselves need special support.
Together with world-renowned artist James Turrell, Zurich Children's Hospital has created a special place that offers space for peace and inspiration, joy and happiness, as well as sadness and consolation.
It is a walk-in room with an elliptical light source. Visitors are immersed in light that slowly changes color and elicits thoughts and feelings. This creates a unique and personal lighting effect, just a "My Light".
Soundscape at the Childen’s Hospital Helsinki
The Soundscape Design for New Children's Hospital in Helsinki was commissioned with the hospital's construction project; consequently, the Soundscape was born with the hospital and follows the visual themes of each floor creating a relaxing sound environment for the children and staff.
Sound is reproduced through 60 speakers located in the hospital's halls. It is designed to be heard only in rooms where children are present and the sounds produced change constantly.
The value of the Arts for Wellness and Health. What scientific evidence to guide policy actions?
The theme of arts, cultural participation, and health has emerged in recent years in a very overpowering way.
Scientific advances that initially developed independently, have subsequently converged very strongly in a context in which bio-psycho-social science, the science of wellbeing, the science of stress, neuroimaging techniques and the science of beauty have allied themselves.
This context allowed to realize how solid and credible is the scientific evidence of the role of art and culture in health promotion and to define that it is time to transform these good practices into a lucid political strategy aiming at a new welfare.
Culture as an engine of inclusion and well-being. The example of LAC edu
Since its inauguration in 2015, LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura has been sensitive to the theme of inclusion, thanks also to the support of the IT Foundation for the Promotion of the Disabled Person (FIPPS), which has made available to the cultural center a person who deals with projects and research in the area of accessibility to culture for all.
Over the years, collaborations have been implemented that embrace different artistic disciplines (art, music, theater, dance), involving the institutions of the territory with moments of meeting and targeted activities.
The pandemic has also shown the opportunity to activate proposals that would promote wellness through art. It will present the path taken so far and give a glimpse into the future.
Arts, flourishing of people and community. Research-action at the S. Anna Hospital in Turin
The Art of Living. In 2009, the doctors of the S. Anna Hospital in Turin invited civil society to work alongside the institutions, first and foremost the University and the Health Authority, to imagine places of care that respond to the wishes of caregivers, patients and their families.
The Fondazione Medicina a Misura di Donna (Foundation "Medicine on a Woman's scale") was created, whose charter expresses the connection between the Arts, Science and Technology for People's Health. With an action-research project on the virtuous relationship between "Culture and Health", the Foundation has contributed to transforming the face and organisational climate of one of the oldest and largest hospitals in Europe dedicated to women.
From the history of the Foundation, CCW-Cultural Welfare Center was born, the first centre of competence on the subject in Italy.
A case, which goes beyond the hospital and the city, moves a macro-region and inspires policies.
Scintille
Born in 2014 as a result of studies and work experience in the social, artistic and cultural field of its creator and conductor Patrizia Nalbach, mediator, singer and music therapist, Scintille (Sparks) is a project aimed at people with cognitive impairment at the onset of senility, including Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
It intends - through Art and the creation of new stories by the participants - to encourage as much as possible the integration of people with dementia, together with their families, in that relational, social and cultural framework that everyone needs to live, according to the cultural realities of the territory and the places of care in it.
Music in the community
This project is based on a programme of 10 group music sessions involving residents in homes for the elderly and conservatory students, and aims to investigate the experience of the participants and any perceived effects on health and well-being.
Each session was conducted by a teacher from the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana supported by students who received specific training. The musical activities were based on singing and the use of appropriate percussion instruments. The sessions also included short performances by the students.
After a preliminary study involving 20 residents of 6 homes for the elderly in Ticino (average age 84.6) with the aim of exploring how residents access music and what function it plays in their lives, the music programme was implemented in 4 facilities in Ticino, involving 22 residents (average age 83.6) and 9 students in the data collection.
Art therapy in the rehabilitation of the cancer patient
This study aims to compare the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary oncology rehabilitation program and explore participants' subjective experience and perceived benefits through art therapy.
The study shows that the intervention of art therapy in the context of cancer rehabilitation can help cancer patients with different clinical profiles, different personal characteristics, and needs by implementing a feasible, cost-effective, and efficient tool.
Theatricality meets the world of dementia: TINCONTRONLINE
The project aims to create an innovative practice using theater, breathing and gentle movement techniques for groups of people with Alzheimer's and their family caregivers.
The TIncontronline project offers online sessions through the proposal of videos based on emotional and body stimulation activities.
The caregiver and the patient are accompanied to discover a point of view that explores people's behaviors and emotionality.
The novelty lies in the creation of an amalgam of languages that integrates the communicative and expressive potential of theater with the knowledge and the technical psychotherapeutic look to obtain a precision in the offer and a depth in the work.
Neighbourhood theatre
Neighborhood Theater is a play that shares and stages stories of family members and people who live with the condition of neuro-diversity, in a sort of imaginary journey that brought us to significant events that have marked our history.
A journey to discover the mysterious universe of the autistic spectrum, but above all the emotions, desires, dreams in order to feed the hope of a happy life despite the diagnosis.
Art as a means of healing from the wounds that cause us the daily confrontation with the communicative limitation of our children.
Photos
"The Alliance for a sustainable future involves Art, Music and Architecture."