Navigating solidarities of care in the arts, health and social spaces at the Culture and Well-being Forum 2025

The Culture and Well-being Forum 2025 took place between the 28th and 30th of October, in Cluj-Napoca at the Youth Pavilion, gathering around 150 local and international participants – experts and specialists from public institutions, policy makers, artists, cultural professionals, public health workers and doctors, social care workers and students – to listen, reflect, and practice what it means to build worlds through care. 

At the intersection of two projects, namely Re:form – an experimental initiative that questions and explores different approaches to work in the cultural sector and CARE: Culture for Mental Health, a project that continues our research on the impact of culture on the health and well-being of people and communities, this year’s edition of the Culture and Well-being Forum: Solidarities of care in the arts, health and social spaces sought to explore the following questions: What does it mean to practice care together in the arts, health, and social spaces? How do we sustain solidarity collectively? 

The state of the arts: discussing the realities of the cultural sector 

The Forum opened officially with a discussion on work in the cultural sector, focusing on the needs and struggles of artists and culture professionals in their practices and experiences. During the Forum, we launched the third edition of the Re:form study on the socio-economical and health conditions of cultural workers in Romania, mapping the challenges and highlighting the fragilities faced by cultural professionals. This was followed by a dialogue on the structural realities shaping cultural work and the ways in which policy, governance, and collective action can respond to them, with guests: Monica Urian, Policy Officer at the European Commission, Lars Ebert, Secretary General of Culture Action Europe, Irina Cios, Director AFCN/ Romanian National Cultural Fund, Iulia Popovici, Critic, Curator, Policy expert, Miki Braniște, Associate Professor at Faculty of Theater and Film, Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj, Ramona Laczko, Director, Centrul de Proiecte Timișoara. 

The day continued with an in-depth presentation of the Re:form project, where artists, collaborators, and community members were invited to dive deeper into the learnings and reflections from the two-year process exploring working conditions, care, and alternative practices in the cultural sector. Participants revealed how expressing vulnerability eventually led to solidarity, connection and resilience. The conversation was also a place to share other practices that explore the need for care in the cultural sector, with contributions from Ana Benavides Otero, EU Projects and Policy Manager at the European Festivals Association, and Marta Ryczkowska, International Relations and Research Manager, European Capital of Culture Lublin 2029. 

On October 30, participants had the opportunity to look towards ways of building a community of practice in the cultural sector and outline certain actions that could be integrated in the continuation and development of the Re:form project. The conversation emphasized the need for solidarity, continuity, and shared responsibility through vulnerability, listening, and mutual support.

Exploring cultural work through artistic practices

Throughout the three days, among the panel and group discussions, six Re:form residents – Selma Dragoș, Oana Hodade, Alice Iliescu, Mirela Ivanciu, Mihai Păcurar and Veda Popovici – showcased, through artistic interventions, performances and the Re:form Collective Exhibition, deeply personal works shaped by their own processes of slowing down, observing and redefining care. 

The audience had the opportunity to be part of Not in Your Dreams and dream-work – two performative interventions developed by Selma Dragoș and Oana Hodade respectively, after an artistic research led in tandem, both exploring the relationship between dreams and cultural work. Alice Iliescu presented her toolkit on The invisible work of culture professionals, comprising 12 interviews with practitioners from Cluj illustrated using the comic book format. Mirela Ivanciu translated her artistic process into an embroidery piece – Survival Net, documenting the emotions, challenges and sensations that she encountered as an artist in the timeframe of the residency; her process was later on shared with fellow artists, and their conversations gave shape to the Survival Kit, available online, in Romanian. The zine format was explored by artists Mihai Păcurar and Veda Popovici, both managing to give very intimate and insightful perspectives on work in the cultural sector, through the projects Ecosystem – exploring the relationship between gardening, cultural work and the need to listen to our personal rhythms during a creative process, and Fulfillment, companionship, and work. Practices of care and work in cultural collectives.   

Cultivating care for ourselves and others

The other main topic of the event focused on the intersection between arts, health and well-being. On October 28, CARE partners attended a study visit to the Cluj-Napoca Military Hospital exploring how art can become a form of care and connection. Guided by Col. Dr. Doina Baltaru, the hospital’s director, the visit highlighted the institution’s ongoing commitment to integrating artistic practices into healthcare that support both patients and staff. The experience continued with a creative workshop facilitated by students from the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca. The day was completed by a Project Partner Meeting, discussing the project agenda for the upcoming months. 

The topic was explored further on October 30, with panel discussions that brought together policymakers, researchers, and practitioners from the arts and health sector. The panel addressed European policy, initiatives like social prescribing, the need to understand beneficiaries, and the challenges of sustaining creative care work. During the policy dialogue featuring Monica Urian, Policy Officer at the European Commission, Edith Wolf-Perez, Co-founder of Arts for Health Austria, and Sebastian Mihai Armean, MD PhD, Chief Physician at the Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases Cluj-Napoca and Senior Lecturer at Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, the Culture and Health – Time to Act report was presented. The report developed by the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) Group for Culture and Health, underscores the full potential of culture and health collaboration offering both urgent and transformative opportunities for advancing key EU policy priorities. The speakers, including Ioana Hirișcău, Assistant Professor and Trainer, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Julia Puebla Fortier, independent consultant on arts and health, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Bristol Medical School, Dace Resele, Acting Head of the Secretariat of the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture and Valentina De Piante, Choreographer, Artist, University Lecturer, UNATC Bucharest, presented systems and strategies of support for arts and health professionals and talked about presence, empathy and the unseen work of care when working with arts in health and social environments. Next, the participants had the opportunity to explore tools for self-care and safeguarding when working with vulnerable audiences, through a workshop facilitated by Katy Geertsen, co-founder of Arts for Health Austria, that highlighted the need for self-care as a foundation for sustainable work.

The event gave us the chance to reflect collectively on the notion of care and the vulnerability it responds to. The agenda was built as an invitation to lean forward and look at the nuances that shape cultural work and explore how we can change things from a place of solidarity. And even question these terms from the very specific contexts that we find ourselves in. In a socio-political space that becomes more and more fragmented and polarizing, such conversations can still nurture a sense of belonging and a feeling of hope.