National seminar on Art Prescription for Mental Well-being, Turku/Finland

The Turku University of Applied Science is organizing a national seminar focusing on the potential of Art on Prescription (AoP) for Mental Well-being. The seminar is targeted at public authorities and cultural actors in the region or the whole country with the aim to:

• learn more about the #ArtsOnPrescription concept - see also the Arts on Prescription brochure for a first introduction,
• provide good practices from practitioners and implemented AoP programmes,
• receive evaluation results from a total of 24 Arts on Prescription pilot programmes,
• experience the power of art firsthand!

The seminar will also explore the applicability of the #ArtsOnPrescription concept in the Finnish context.

The morning program (9:00 AM – 12:15 PM) can be followed online, while participation in the afternoon workshops (1:15 PM – 2:30 PM) is only available on-site.

The seminar will be conducted in Finnish and English.

For registration, please use the link above.

For more information about the seminar and the Arts on Prescription in the Baltic Sea Region project, please contact: Liisa Laitinen – liisa.laitinen@turkuamk.fi

Program:

8:45–9:15 | Registration and Morning Coffee

9:15–9:20 | Welcome!

9:20–9:30 | Liisa Laitinen & Outi Linnossuo (Turku University of Applied Sciences):
What is Arts on Prescription? Introduction to the Arts on Prescription model developed in the Interreg Baltic Sea Region project

9:30–9:50 | Inga Surgunte (Latvian Academy of Culture):
Museums on Prescription: Arts on Prescription Programme in Cēsis Municipality, Latvia

9:50–10:10 | Elias Sandling (Sunderby Folk High School):
Piloting Arts on Prescription in Norrbotten (Sweden) – Pilot Design and Lessons Learned

10:10–10:30 | Hannah Goebel (Bremen Adult Education Centre):
Arts on Prescription in Bremen (Germany): An Inclusive Model

10:30–10:45 | Break

10:45–11:15 | Liisa Laitinen & Outi Linnossuo (Turku University of Applied Sciences):
How Does Arts on Prescription Support Mental Well-being? Findings from the evaluation of 24 pilot programmes

11:15–12:10 | Panel Discussion: How Can the Arts on Prescription Model Be Integrated into Finland? The Case of Turku

Panelists:

• Mari Lahti, Regional Councilor, Chair of Turku SDP, PhD (Health Sciences), Principal Lecturer, Turku University of Applied Sciences

• Mirka Muukkonen, Deputy Mayor for Well-being (Left Alliance), City of Turku

• Johanna Seppä, Public Engagement Curator, WAM Turku City Art Museum

• Hanna Hyytiä, Project Manager, Community Engagement Flagship Project, City of Turku

12:10–12:15 | Instructions for Afternoon Workshops

12:15–13:15 | Lunch (at own expense)

13:15–14:30 | Workshops

On a Journey Around the World – A Playful Creative Writing Workshop

📍 Location: Auditorium Lemminkäinen
Create collaborative travel stories through playful creative writing.

• Facilitator: Hanna Dufva, Creative Writing Instructor, Neuropsychiatric Coach, and Accessibility Specialist

Introduction to Body Literacy – A Movement Workshop

📍 Location: Aula
Engage in simple creative movement exercises individually and in groups while exploring body communication through insightful tasks.

• Facilitator: Annastiina Love, Lead Dance Buddy, Master of Arts, Western Finland Dance Centre