This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: On June 18, 2026, on the sidelines of the European Council in Brussels, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union signed a joint declaration making culture a strategic priority for the first time. This text, "Europe for Culture—Culture for Europe," sets out 12 key principles intended to inspire, if not guide, member states' cultural policies.
Among these principles is culture's impact on health. The Commission explicitly references the conclusions of a report by experts from member states, entitled Culture for Health, which highlights the beneficial effects of culture on health and well-being. Culture is no longer championed merely as heritage—a source of attachment and a sense of belonging for individuals—or as an economic driver within the creative industries.
It is becoming a resource for public health and social cohesion. This shift is part of a wider trend inspiring pilot initiatives and policy directions at various levels by placing a new priority on neuroscience research into how cultural practices affect the brain and well-being. The European network Culture Next has just published a report, "Culture as Care: Participation, Health and Collective Well-Being in European Cities", which directly builds on the terms of the declaration.
In the report, culture is described not as a substitute for social, health or educational policies, but as that which fosters care through participation itself—via the meeting places and cultural spaces accommodating mutual recognition and collective action that it makes possible. The report places particular emphasis on young people, calling for a move beyond an "access" approach (bringing young people to cultural institutions) to recognize the role they already play as creators and organizers, often outside institutional frameworks (in line with a perspective more closely aligned with the principle of the "right to culture"). The European Commission's "Culture and Health—Time to Act" report (2025) calls for the development of a health ecosystem to address a range of socio-health issues that characterize the European continent today and that are contributing to a gradual deterioration in general health conditions, both physical and mental: post-pandemic burnout, an aging population, increasing social isolation, a worrying geopolitical context and growing inequalities.
The concept of a health ecosystem was first put forward in the World Health Organization (WHO) report published in 2019, titled ""What are the real benefits of engaging in the arts for health and well-being?." According to this report, artistic activities simultaneously engage aesthetic appreciation, imagination, sensory stimulation, emotional response and cognitive stimulation, triggering concrete and positive psychological, physiological, social and behavioral responses that benefit health. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. d research that matter—daily or weekly. In reality, these reports merely institutionalize a movement that had already begun among a handful of pioneering cultural institutions.
The Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) was one of the first museums to make official, with the help of health care professionals, a cultural program tailored to a clinically defined audience: people living with Alzheimer's disease. Since 2006, the Meet Me at MoMA program has offered monthly interactive guided tours of the collections during hours when the museum is closed to the public. The aim is to provide a space for expression and exchange for people in the early and intermediate stages of the disease, drawing on iconic works of modern art.
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