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European Culture and Health Hub brings arts and culture into EU health agenda
The Netherlands and Europe are facing growing pressures on mental health and wellbeing, alongside rising levels of loneliness, social isolation, and the challenges of an ageing population. The arts and culture can play a role in addressing those issues, though that is still overlooked in mainstream health policy. With the launch of the European Culture and Health Hub, a new Horizon Europe project, twenty organizations from thirteen European countries will collaborate over the next three years to strengthen the connection between culture, healthcare, and the social domain.Coordinated by Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland), the project brings together 20 organisations including 15 project partners and 5 associated partners, across 13 European countries. Arts in Health Groningen will represent the Netherlands in the consortium.

‍Culture as part of health and wellbeing
The European Commission’s 2025 report, Culture and Health: Time to Act, calls on the EU and Member States to support population health and wellbeing with cultural collaborations across the health, culture, and social domain sectors. A four-year Horizon Europe project called the European Culture and Health Hub launches in June 2026 to facilitate such arts in health collaborations. 

According to research from the World Health Organization, the arts can support psychological wellbeing and strengthen community resilience by helping people connect with the places they live, and with each other. Participation in the arts is also linked to improved mental and emotional health and improved health resilience. The Netherlands has begun using that evidence to steer arts in health projects, education, and research that advances the Dutch field.

Project kick-off in Groningen               
Arts in Health Groningen represents the Netherlands in this European consortium, and will host the kick-off of the European Culture and Health Hub on September 2-3 in Groningen. As part of this kick-off event, Daisy Fancourt, Professor of Psychobiology & Epidemiology and Head of the Social Biobehavioural Research Group at University College London, will give a public lecture on September 1 in collaboration with Studium Generale Groningen. Professor Fancourt is also the UNESCO Chair in Arts and Health, and Director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health, alongside leading European researchers working in the field.

“Arts engagement is increasingly recognised as a health-promoting behaviour, and there are some fantastic programmes happening across the European region putting the evidence base into practice. ECHH is poised to catalyse the field by synthesising and advancing the evidence base and translating the evidence into new programmes and policy.” says Professor Daisy Fancourt, University College London‍

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An international hub to accelerate national change
The European Culture and Health Hub will build connections among EU arts in health researchers, policy makers, and practitioners, and facilitate innovative health collaborations. The Hub will be developed with policymakers, practitioners, researchers and local communities, to ensure that it responds to real-world needs. The Hub will map the scientific evidence, and gaps in that evidence, for the arts in health field. It will also offer practical policy guidance for national, regional, and local decision makers. 

Horizon activities will include evaluating arts in health projects in multiple countries (including the Netherlands), supporting regional capacity-building, and helping stakeholders implement evidence-based practice.

“Decision-makers in the sectors of healthcare and culture were traditionally quite separate, but now recognise that they have shared values, and that they can help each other,” says Dr. Ferdinand Lewis, Director of Science and Education for Arts in Health Groningen. “The Horizon project and the Hub will be a big step toward making real collaborations between researchers, policy makers, and practitioners from both sectors.”

Project partners 

• Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland),
• University College London (United Kingdom)
• The Center for Primary Health Care Research Region Skåne (Sweden),
• Culture Action Europe (Belgium),
• EuroHealthNet (Belgium),
• University of Porto (Portugal),
• Cultural Welfare Center ETS (Italy)
• Cultura en Vena (Spain)
• Nord University (Norway)
• Arts in Health Groningen (Netherlands)
• Latvian Academy of Culture (Latvia)
• Mozarteum University Salzburg (Austria)
• Cluj Cultural Centre (Romania)
• University of Southern Denmark (Denmark)
• Hope UK (United Kingdom)

The project is supported by various associated partners who contribute expertise, policy engagement, and cross-sector collaboration: Arts + Health Ireland / Réalta (Ireland), Secretariat of the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture (Latvia), United Cities and Local Governments (Spain), UNESCO (France), and the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (Sweden).

More information
Interested organisations, professionals and artists are welcome to fill out this form to receive updates about the project.

The Muziekmaatjes (Music Buddies) project brings live music to children and their families in the pediatric ward of the Dijklander Hospital in Hoorn. From November 2024 to October 2025, specially trained music teachers from Boedijn Music School in Hoorn make music ‘with and for’ children and their families in the ward. 

The musical sessions take place twice a week. The music teachers are briefed by the hospital’s medical pedagogical staff, and personalise the music for each patient, for example, gentle sounds for a newborn, an upbeat and fun song for an eight-year-old, and a ukulele lesson for a teenager. Throughout, parents are encouraged to join in the creativity. 

The Music Buddies programme supplements the care provided by medical and nursing staff, supporting the wellbeing of both the children and their families. Read more about Muziekmaatjes in the article by the Noordhollands Dagblad.

According to Music Buddies project leader Ciska Ruitenberg, when she participated in the Arts in Health Summer School in June 2024, the idea for the programme was already brewing. An experienced musician and music teacher, Ruitenberg had been in conversation with Dijklander pediatrician Noud Drewes, who wanted to use live music to help his young patients feel more human and alive during treatment and recovery. Ruitenberg says, “As a teacher I know how live music can lift the spirits of young people. The idea of a hospital pilot program takes that to the next level”. 

Working with Drewes and hospital staff, Ruitenberg developed a proposal for the Music Buddies pilot and submitted it to the VSB fund, which specializes in social domain projects. VSB is partnering with Arts in Health Groningen and Music Buddies to evaluate the pilot. 

The evaluation research is being conducted by Arts in Health Groningen science director Ferdinand Lewis and research associate Nina van den Berg. Researcher van den Berg says,  “We are evaluating the implementation and outcomes of the programme. We will be able to say how the programme works, what needs to be adjusted, and how to make it sustainable for the future.” In the long term, the project partners hope to expand Muziekmaatjes to other departments, including the pediatric ward in the Dijklander Hospital location in Purmerend. 

Decades of scientific research show that the arts can reduce patient stress and pain, promote a sense of comfort and safety in hospital environments, and even shorten hospital stays. Music can also help patients deal with difficult treatments, and feel more engaged and ‘human’ in the high-tech hospital environment. “Especially for children in treatment, the arts can help build connections with their  ‘hospital family’ Van den Berg adds, “including their loved ones, caregivers and the musicians”.  

The goal of the programme is to promote a sense of connectedness and normality for patients. Ferdinand Lewis says, “These artists are trained to be highly sensitive to the patient’s needs, and they never pressure anyone to participate: If a child feels well enough to hear some music––and especially if they want to join in––that child is identifying with the part of themselves that is curious, joyous, and free to make choices”. Lewis adds that for parents, “Seeing their child being well, even in this small way, can also help families feel normal and connected”. 

For Ciska Ruitenberg and her Music Buddies team, the project is about much more than music. “We don’t go in with a set routine,” Ruitenberg says. “It’s about being present and responding to what a child or family needs at that moment. Sometimes that means playing quietly, sometimes it means making up a song together. It’s small, but it can really make a difference.”

‍Want to learn more about music for children in hospitals? 

Scientific studies show that live music can help children in hospitals regulate emotions, reduce anxiety, and feel more at ease in the stressful environment (Giordano et al., 2020; Blackburn, 2020a; Bush et al., 2021). Music can have the effect of lowering heart rate and breathing, or  creating a calmness that can reduce the need for medication in some cases (Colwell et al., 2013; Grebosz-Haring & Thun-Hohenstein, 2018).

Live music can help children shift their focus away from the pain and discomfort of medical procedures (Sundar et al., 2016; Uggla et al., 2019). In cases where children are hospitalized for longer periods, live music has been associated with reduced feelings of passivity and an increased sense of control—especially when music is personalized or improvised (Colwell et al., 2013).

Music can create a sense of normalcy and connection even in a clinical environment, leading families and caregivers to report feeling more like a “hospital family” (Blackburn, 2020b; Giordano et al., 2021). For parents, participating in the intervention can strengthen their sense of involvement in the child’s care, which in turn helps the parent––and the child––feel safer and more supported (Preti & Welch, 2011; Yates et al., 2018).

Blackburn, C. (2020a). Family members' perceptions of a Singing Medicine project in a children's hospital. Nursing Children and Young People, 32(1), 23–29.

‍Blackburn, C. (2020b). Music-making for hospitalized children and their families: A qualitative thematic analysis of Music-Making Sessions in a UK children’s hospital. Music and Medicine, 12(1), 45–56.

‍Bush, A. M., O'Malley, A., & Peterson, B. M. (2021). Music therapy as an adjunctive treatment in the management of stress for patients being weaned from mechanical ventilation. Journal of Music Therapy, 58(1), 14–36.

‍Colwell, C. M., Edwards, R., & Hernandez, E. (2013). The use of music therapy in pediatric oncology: A case review. Music Therapy Perspectives, 31(2), 162–166.

‍Giordano, F., Rutigliano, C., De Leonardis, F., Rana, R., Neri, D., Brienza, N., & Santoro, N. (2021). COVID-19 and absence of music therapy: Impact on mother-child dyad during invasive procedures in pediatric oncology. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 75, 101839.

‍Grebosz-Haring, K., & Thun-Hohenstein, L. (2018). Music therapy for children and adolescents. European Journal of Pediatrics, 177(6), 919–923.

‍Preti, C., & Welch, G. F. (2011). Music in a hospital setting: A multifaceted experience. British Journal of Music Education, 28(3), 329–345.

‍Sundar, S. S., Kim, J., & Zhang, B. (2016). Music for pain relief: Effects on pain intensity and perceived control over pain. Journal of Music Therapy, 53(4), 441–459.

‍Uggla, L., Mårtenson Blom, K., Bonde, L. O., Gustafsson, B., & Wrangsjö, B. (2019). An explorative study of qualities in interactive processes with children and their parents in music therapy during and after pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Yates, T., Stanyon, M. R., & Sampson, E. L. (2018). The role of music therapy in the care of hospitalized children: A systematic review of literature. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 43, 45–52. 

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The pilot project

Specially trained professional musicians affiliated with Boedijn Music School visited the children's ward two mornings a week at fixed times for a year to create live music with and for children, their families, and healthcare professionals. In patient rooms, group rooms, and the outpatient clinic, the musicians sang, improvised, and used musical instruments to encourage participation and connection between patients, family members, and other attendees. The project was intended not only for distraction and relaxation, but also as a way to enrich the hospital experience for patients and their families and normalize the care environment for young patients. 

The evaluation describes the implementation of the project and its development, assessing how the project objectives were achieved. The project was not designed as therapy. Rather, the goal was to complement regular care with personalized attention, to encourage relaxation, lightheartedness, and social connection through music. The project was initiated by pediatrician Noud Drewes. 

The partners

The pilot project took place from November 2024 to November 2025 in the Child and Adolescent Department of Dijklander Hospital. It was made possible in part by financial support from the VSB Fund and developed in close collaboration between Dijklander Hospital and the Boedijn Music School. 

Findings

The implementation process addressed the goal of collaborative learning and knowledge sharing. The practice contributed to the well-being of patients and families through music. The project increased inclusivity and accessibility around music-making, and connections were strengthened between the city and region.

Photo: Paediatrician Noud Drewes and Muziekmaatje project manager Ciska Ruitenberg.

Curious about what books are out there in the field of arts in health? Below is a short list of popular and academic books to get you started. These introduce the research, practice, and inspiration for Arts in Health, from authors around the world — from designing interventions to understanding how creativity supports wellbeing. Whether you’re an artist, researcher, healthcare professional, or simply curious about how art and care intersect, these books invite you to explore, learn, and connect. If you have any suggestions for books that should definitely be included, please let us know!

Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health | Daisy Fancourt, 2025 

In her latest book  Daisy Fancourt, presents the latest scientific evidence on how the arts and creativity contribute to health and wellbeing. It explores how engagement with the arts can support mental and physical health outcomes across different clinical contexts, and highlights global challenges faced by the arts sector. Art Cure invites readers to reconsider the role of the arts, not as a luxury, but as an essential part of individual and societal wellbeing. 

I Heard There Was a Secret Chord, Music as Medicine | Daniel J. Levitin, 2024 ‍

In I Heard There Was a Secret Chord, neuroscientist and best-selling author Daniel J. Levitin explores the powerful relationship between music and healing, inviting readers to see music not only as art, but also as a form of care. Levitin draws  on research from neuroscience and music therapy, arguing for how music can ease suffering, promote recovery, and calm the mind. The book  connects scientific findings with stories of the experiences of  musicians and patients, illustrating how rhythm and sound support mental and physical health. A fascinating read for anyone interested in the science and art of music as medicine. 

Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us | Susan Magsamen & Ivy Ross, 2023

Your Brain on Art explores the emerging field of NeuroArts—the study of how the arts and aesthetic experiences can change the body, brain, and behaviour. The authors show how creativity affects our biology and emotions, supporting health, wellbeing, and learning. Through stories from artists and scientists, this book invites readers to see the arts not as a luxury, but as an essential part of being human. Learn more at yourbrainonart.com.

Designing and researching interventions | Daisy Fancourt, 2017 

Authored by one of the leading academics in the field, Designing and Researching Interventions provides a great introduction to the history, research, and practice of Arts in Health. Whether you are building an Arts in Health program, developing a research design, or want to understand the meaning of quality in this field, Designing and Researching Interventions will be a useful guide. 

Arts, Health and Wellbeing | Edited by Stephen Clift and Theo Stickley, 2008

Arts, Health and Wellbeing, offers many useful descriptions and examples from the field of arts in health. The book  covers topics such as arts on prescription and music therapy, for example, exploring their application in both hospital and community settings. If you are a researcher, or a practitioner in the field, or simply looking to learn more about the growing dialogue around arts and health, this book could be a valuable resource. 

Soundtrack voor een beter leven 12 manieren waarop muziek je meer rust, grip en flow geeft | Sanneke Langendoen, 2026

Drawing on scientific research, conversations with experts, and her own personal experiences, Sanneke Langendoen explores how music can support health and wellbeing in everyday life. The book highlights growing evidence showing that music can help reduce stress, improve sleep, support recovery and grief, enhance creativity, and strengthen focus. Combining research with practical insights, Soundtrack voor een beter leven invites readers to use music more intentionally as a tool for resilience, balance, and wellbeing. An accessible read for anyone interested in the connection between music, health, and wellbeing.

Understanding opportunities within existing policy and regulations

Arts in Health often starts in practice, but the decisions around it determine whether initiatives can continue to grow. Many projects show how art can contribute to health, wellbeing, and quality of life. At the same time, long-term integration remains difficult because funding, collaboration, and responsibilities are often fragmented.

The report Kunst in zorg – wegen naar verankering explores where existing laws and regulations offer opportunities to organise Arts in Health in a more sustainable way. From municipalities and health insurers to welfare organisations and long-term care, the report shows that there is often more possible than people expect. It also highlights where collaboration between healthcare, culture, and policy still runs into challenges in practice.

This report was carried out by VitaValley on behalf of Arts in Health Netherlands.

What policy needs to do

Arts in Health sits at the intersection of healthcare, culture, and social welfare. But its place in policy is still emerging. What is needed is for healthcare and welfare systems to recognise the role the arts can play in making care more human. Key questions include:

• How can successful programmes continue beyond the pilot phase?
• How can the role of the arts be secured within the current transformation of healthcare?
• How can barriers to collaboration between healthcare, culture, and social welfare be removed, at both local and national levels?
• How can Arts in Health contribute to the challenges facing healthcare today?

What is already happening

In the Netherlands, ZonMw, the Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie, and programmes like Welzijn op Recept, are working to develop Arts in Health further. The municipality of Tilburg actively supports collaboration between artists and care organisations. Provincial arts organisations are exploring how Arts in Health can contribute to health and prevention at a regional level. And at European level, the EU Commission recognises Arts in Health as part of the future of healthcare.

For policymakers and partners

Do you work on policy in healthcare, culture, or welfare? You can contribute by making connections and creating space for collaboration. Arts in Health does not need a new system. It needs a place within the system as it evolves.

Read more and get involved

• Books about Arts in Health
• Academical magazines
• Rapport: next steps for the Arts in Health Network

Want to contribute to the development of Arts in Health in the Netherlands? The alliance is coming. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed.

The Summer School introduces students to the emerging field of arts in health, and how it uses creative practices to provide care, support wellbeing, and encourage healthy living. Students experience the theory, practice, and ethics of using the arts to support care and wellbeing.

“The Summer School brings together a diverse group of people, to build a common understanding of how arts is health works,” says Ferdinand Lewis, director of education for Arts in Health Groningen (AiHG). “They leave the School as a community of learners, ready to explore how they might want to contribute to the field.”

The week-long Summer School is designed for people at different points in their careers, and is open to mid-career graduates of MBO, HBO, and universities, as well as current students at any of those institutions. “Establishing a permanent place for the arts in our healthcare system will require professionals who can work across sectors, disciplines and traditional roles,” Lewis says. 

The Summer School introduces students to the scientific research on how the arts are being used to re-humanise the health professions, to support wellness and recovery, and to encourage healthy living. The curriculum includes an innovative pedagogical approach that integrates the learning of theory and practice together in a unique workshop setting. “Students are immersed in the practice of arts in health right away,” Lewis explains, “while they are also learning the science and theory that explains the field. They follow up on those experiences with structured reflection, to integrate experience and knowledge”. 

Each student is encouraged to formulate their own goals for working in the field. The School’s unique teaching-learning strategy, plus the wide diversity of backgrounds among the students, means that each graduate takes away their own set of tools, ideas, and inspirations. One graduate reported, “For me it was about getting to know what is out there in the field”, while in contrast, another student in the same cohort said that she learned how to work in the field of art in health, and to organise her own programmes. 

Finally, all of the teaching and learning in the Arts in Health Summer School occurs in a community of people exploring their common passion for this exciting new field. Students who complete the School can receive an official ‘digital credential’ from the University of Groningen to use on CV’s. They also have the opportunity to join Arts in Health Learning Community, especially for former Summer School students, which meets every six weeks to share knowledge, discuss current issues, and build a network across the Netherlands and EU. 

Development of the Summer School
The Summer School was first piloted in June of 2023. AiHG’s program director Kirsten Krans said, “We made 15 spaces available for students, and all of them were filled right away. So many people want to learn how the arts can support care in hospitals, long-term care, and in our communities!” 

Since that 2023 pilot program, the Summer School has quickly evolved. In 2024, AiHG was awarded support from the University of Groningen to develop a formal summer school curriculum. AiHG partnered with the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, University College Groningen, Prins Claus Conservatorium; the Faculty of Religion, Culture & Society at the University of Groningen; the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: and the University of Hamburg for the 2024 Summer School. Enrollment was increased to 25, for which the Summer School received more than 50 applications in 2024 and 2025. Accepted students included visual and performance artists, medical doctors, social workers, university assistant professors, undergraduate students, administrators, and policy makers. Lewis says, “In the Netherlands and EU, the Arts in Health field needs people from a variety of backgrounds, all learning and working together. The Summer School was created to facilitate that”.      

Learn more

What Arts in Health education involves

Arts in health education is growing in the Netherlands. So is the demand.

• The University of Groningen runs an annual Arts in Health Summer School, combining practical and theoretical insights into participatory practice with an introduction to creative arts therapies.
• The Prins Claus Conservatoire offers opportunities to study and research the use of music in healthcare.
• The Art of Caring Summer School brings together students from healthcare and the arts to explore where the two fields meet.
• Creative Arts Therapy Netherlands offers certified training for those who want to specialise in therapeutic applications.

Online courses are also available from University College London, King's College London, and the Royal Society for Public Health.

What is already happening

The Creating Cultures of Care consortium is mapping the educational landscape in the Netherlands. Their work will describe what programs already exist, and what is needed. 

Universities and universities of applied sciences are developing more modules and minors in arts in health. Arts in health projects and courses can be found in the visual arts, care ethics, nursing, spiritual care, and the medical humanities.

For educators and students

Arts in health needs people who are at home in two worlds. You do not need to know everything, but you are curious about all of it.

Thinking about studying arts in health?
Look for programmes that connect to care, art, or welfare. Nursing, arts education, or social studies are good starting points. From there, you can go deeper into areas of arts in health that are of special interest to you.

Do you teach or develop programmes?
Arts in health is interdisciplinary. It needs collaboration between arts and healthcare educators. Help students learn to work safely with vulnerable people, and learn about self-care from the start.

Read more and get involved

• Books about Arts in Health
• Website Vaktherapie Nederland
• Culture for Health and Well-being Compendium
• Arts Council Ireland, Arts in Health Handbook

Want to contribute to the development of arts in health education in the Netherlands? The alliance is coming. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed.