White Paper | A national agenda
Interest in sustainable arts in health programming is growing in the Netherlands. The increasing number of successful Arts in Health projects is encouraging administrators, funders, governments, researchers, and artists to explore the role that the arts can play in care and illness prevention.
Arts in Health Netherlands initiated a white paper to survey the current situation and set the agenda for the future. The white paper considers the structures that are needed in the Netherlands, to systematically support Arts in Health programming, to train practitioners, and to encourage research and policy formulation. The white paper is a first step toward a sustainable arts in health field.
The white paper is:
- Providing a unified statement from science, government, and the private sector on the situation in the Netherlands regarding Arts in Health, and the need for a sustainable field.
- Initiating active networking, knowledge-sharing, and the collaborations required to catalyse the field of Arts in Health in the Netherlands.
- Setting the agenda for establishing stable, sustainable practice, education, and research in the field of Arts in Health.
Creation Process of the Whitepaper
Arts in Health Netherlands assembled a steering committee of front runners in the field, including representatives from the University of Groningen, Leyden Academy on Vitality and Ageing, University Medical Center Groningen, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Landelijk Kennisinstituut Cultuureducatie en Amateurkunst (LKCA).
To create awareness of the initiative and to involve a wider network of partners, the steering committee organized a kick-off meeting at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) in October 2022.
The first draft of the white paper was created by the steering committee and co-authors. That draft served as a focal point for reflection and discussion with a wider national network, gathered in three roundtables in different parts of the country. At each roundtable, participants contributed to discussion and brainstorming on the practice, education, research, and policy of arts in health.
Participants included healthcare professionals, artists, researchers, policy makers, managers, educators, practitioners and directors, all discussing how to make arts in health a sustainable field in the Netherlands. The roundtables were co-presented by Leyden Academy, Kunstloc Brabant, and University Medical Center Groningen in June and July 2023.
Each of the three roundtables focussed on a different domain; hospital care, long-term care and the social domain. For impressions of the roundtables conversations, please read the summaries (in Dutch):
- Arts in Health in Long-term Care | Co-hosted by Leyden Academy
- Arts in Health in Social Domain | Co-hosted by Kunstloc Brabant
- Arts in Health in Hospitals | Co-hosted by University Medical Center Groningen
Publication, Launch Event and Handover
More than 200 people contributed to the final version of the white paper.
The publication was designed by the design firm JUST, which also created the Arts in Health Netherlands identity and website. The white paper was published by the University of Groningen Press, and given a public launch at the Care through Creativity event at the Grand Theatre in Groningen on 16 February 2024. That festive event included presentations and performances and inspiring examples from practice and research. The national newspaper NRC wrote an article about the event.
At the Care Through Creativity event, the white paper was officially handed over by the WHO Arts in Health lead, Christopher Bailey, to the Province of Groningen alderman responsible for Arts & Culture, as well as Health & Wellbeing. At a separate event in Den Haag, the white paper was handed over to the director-general of curative care at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) and the director of Heritage & Arts at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW).
The white paper Arts in health in the Netherlands: A national agenda is available via the University of Groningen Press (open access), in both Dutch and English.