International Symposium “The role of art and environment in caring for hospital patients”

How much can a visually, artistically and culturally stimulating environment influence our mood? How important is it if we are patients in hospital? Can we renew the conception of hospitals to improve therapy, revealing the interdependence between environment, illness and well-being?

The international symposium "The Role of the Environment and Art in caring for hospital patients” offered reflections and answers to these questions. The conference is another important part the "Culture and Health" project, developed to assess the impact of cultural participation on the psychological wellness of the individual.

After a research project and a Workshop in December 2011 dedicated to the links and influences between well-being and lifestyles, between the mind and the consumption of culture, this year Bracco Foundation proposes, with the convention “Lifestyles, health and culture: towards a new welfare”, a reflection on a particularly important question: how art and the environment contribute to improving care and assistance.

The symposium programme, with a multi-disciplinary approach and the participation of experts from the health, culture and social sectors, and will provide the theoretical basis and scientific evidence of the positive role of visual arts, music and environmental design in hospitals.