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
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.
