Arts+Health

Ann Demeester, Director Kunsthaus Zürich.

Zurich is discovering the healing power of art. Not in the studios of the city on the Limmat, but in the midst of everyday medical life: when trainee doctors learn to look more closely at Kunsthaus Zürich; when young people in psychiatric clinics rediscover themselves through colours and forms; when dance strengthens people living with Parkinson's disease. Even architecture no longer appears merely as a built environment, but as a factor in healing and wellbeing.

What long seemed like two separate worlds – evidence-based medicine on one side, autonomous art on the other – is increasingly converging in Zurich. Driving this development is University Medicine Zurich (UMZH), which aims to forge closer links between art, culture and the health sciences.

Bringing different perspectives together

A platform is currently being created under the title "Arts+Health" to permanently foster exchange between medicine and art. "Progress arises especially where different perspectives, ways of thinking and experiences come together," said Beatrice Beck Schimmer, Director of University Medicine Zurich (UMZH), at the launch event mid-May at Kunsthaus Zürich.

The collaboration is set to take concrete shape in medical education, among other areas. A teaching module is planned within the so-called "Mantelstudium", to be developed under the leadership of Susanne Walitza, Professor of Psychiatry at University of Zurich (UZH). Beck Schimmer also paid tribute to those who have made a significant contribution to driving the project forward, including Johann Steurer, Emeritus Professor of Internal Medicine at University of Zurich and Ann Demeester, Director of Kunsthaus Zürich.

Interest was considerable: around 350 invited guests from academia, culture, politics and healthcare took part. The evening was hosted by Kurt Aeschbacher. The numerous contributions made clear that "Arts+Health" is not intended to remain a statement of intent. Concrete projects from medicine, psychiatry, dance, architecture and culture were presented – united by the question of how art can influence health, perception and interpersonal experience.

Jacqueline Fehr, Cantonal Councillor Zurich.

Rethinking health

Cantonal Councillor Jacqueline Fehr referred to experiences with art therapy in the penal system. Music in particular, she noted, can foster empathy and self-awareness. At the same time, she cautioned against reducing culture to its social utility. Its strength lies precisely in its freedom. Andreas Hauri made a similar argument. The Zurich City Councillor for Health advocated understanding health not solely in medical terms, but also socially and culturally. Art, he argued, is not a decorative addition, but part of human care.

Ann Demeester illustrated how closely art and medicine already collaborate, drawing on international examples. At "Radboud University" in the Netherlands, artistic methods are now incorporated into the training of medical professionals to sharpen perception, empathy and communication. Art acts "like a catalyst", said Demeester.

Clare Guss-West (l.) and Nadine Schwarz of Opera House Zurich with Kurt Aeschbacher.

When art becomes part of therapy

That such approaches are already being put into practice was evident from several Zurich-based projects. Clare Guss-West and Nadine Schwarz from Zurich Opera House presented a dance programme for people living with Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis. Susanne Walitza reported from the "Life" crisis intervention centre, where young people at risk of suicide attend art and dance workshops. The participants themselves gave the project the name "art.in".

Bernard Sabrier, founder of the Children Action foundation and supporter of the Geneva-based prevention project "Malatavie", spoke about the power of aesthetic experiences during mental health crises. Art opens up avenues that conventional therapies often cannot reach. He gave a particularly striking account of a young person's encounter with a work of art. "That is exactly how I feel," she had said. In such moments, inner pain becomes tangible for the first time.

Prof. Susanne Walitza, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich.

The impact of spaces

The final segment broadened the perspective once more. Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken presented research projects from Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). This was followed by a discussion among ETH Zurich professors Rosa Barba, An Fonteyne and Anna Puigjaner on how architecture and spaces affect people – and how they can influence healing, concentration or wellbeing.

Prof. An Fonteyne, ETH Zurich.

Text: Marita Fuchs
Photos: Frank Brüderli