29 June 2026 · 11:00–12:30 CET · Online · Free · In English · 90 minutes
What does it really take to bring culture into a hospital ward? Not the finished project — the negotiation, the trust-building, the moment it nearly didn’t happen. In this session, Cultura en Vena opens up their practice and takes you on a tour of the clinical spaces where they work: waiting rooms, corridors, patient wards. For each space, they’ll share what the intervention looked like, what the clinical staff said, and what actually changed. This is not a survey of the field. It is one organisation’s honest account of years of hospital arts work — followed by a hands-on group exercise where participants design their own first step.
WHAT YOU WILL TAKE AWAY
- A clear picture of how culture can transform clinical spaces, beyond decoration.
- An understanding of how to build working relationships with clinical teams before any project begins.
- Insight into the real obstacles (institutional, logistical, ethical) and how to navigate them.
WHO THIS SESSION IS FOR
Artists working in or interested in healthcare settings · Cultural managers and programme coordinators · Health professionals open to cultural collaboration · Policy makers in arts, health or social care · Researchers and evaluators in arts & health. No prior experience in arts and health is required.
SESSION OUTLINE
00:00 — Opening provocation A photo of a bare hospital corridor. One question: «What would you change, and why?»
00:10 — A tour of Cultura en Vena’s hospital Three real spaces: a waiting room, a ward corridor, a patient room. Before and after. What the clinical staff said. Honest numbers.
00:40 — The collaboration behind the curtain. A practitioner-to-practitioner conversation.
01:15 — Reflection & closing Cultura en Vena. Practical resources shared.
Organised by Cultura en Vena as part of the Culture & Health European Platform, supported by the European Commission.