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Arts – Health – Entrepreneurship? is a conference on arts and health projects and practices taking place in Helsinki from 22-23 October 2012.
Throughout the world, from the 1990’s on, there are several projects and studies clearly indicating that cultural consumption and cultural pursuits have a positive effect on health. It is believed that art can encourage empowerment, support life management and add social capital etc. However, further research is needed in order to turn the projects into permanent services. The Arts – Health – Entrepreneurship? conference is focusing on the management and entrepreneurship within arts and health projects. What skills and competencies are needed in the field? What does the field offer to arts/cultural operators? How to solve the challenge of funding and financing?
There have been several projects piloting new methods for using art based process to improve wellbeing of clients in social and health care sectors. Starting point of these projects is an artist working in a care unit and mediators understanding both artistic and health care interests for co-operation. These pilots have shown that in this surrounding the cultural operator needs to have good skills and specific competencies in order to make projects long term and successful. A central challenge is how to turn the innovative pilots into permanent practices, products and stable employment. This conference aims at looking into this challenge. This conference is an initiative of the ENCATC Arts and Health Thematic Area (www.encatc.org/arts-and-health/) and is organsied by the Cultural Management Degree Programme, Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (www.metropolia.fi)
In fact, in the context of arts and health, we are dealing with activities which fall into the border area of art/culture, as well as that of social services/health care. The field of applied art is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary. We invite the professionals in the field to share the two topics of the conference:
1. CURRICULA DEVELOPMENT – There is a challenge to improve arts management aimed at professionals working in intermediary positions between the artists and health care units. Specific education is needed both in BA and MA levels as well as in continuing studies and in adult education. Key improvements are the better understanding of specific competence needed when working in multi-disciplinary surrounding combining large variety of expertise. Financial management is a part of the arts and health project development.
2. ENTREPRENEURSHIP – As seen in the piloted arts and health projects a central need is to find ways to enhance creative ideas into entrepreneurship. When turning the pilot into innovation with a more stable status along with new employment we need to focus on financing models, client basis and value chain of production as well as the service development. How to develop the managerial and funding skills of the practitioners?
Art in this context is understood as any art form or art performance. Art and culture are basic needs for each person and bringing art and culture into hospitals and other care units has value for that sake. Further research is needed in order to develop culture and arts based wellbeing services as well as to develop circumstances for better employment by bringing together artists, mediators and healthcare professionals. In a holistic approach the customer is in the centre. A question of crucial importance is: who are the customers of arts and health services? We need to know the customer and his/her cultural capacities, needs and expectations.
The deadline for submissions is 31 May 2012. The length of abstract is max 300 words. Decisions will be made by the end of June 2012. Please send your abstract to: tanja.juntto@metropolia.fi.
The conference is free of charge but travel, accommodation and meals are covered by the participants.
