Culture & Care as Cure Five prescriptions from the field
Body & Soul is a living lab in Leuven that is building a world where people can flourish in body and mind.
Culture & Care zooms in on the question: What if care and culture together make the difference for people and society?
Five prescriptions from the field
In February 2026, we came together for the conference Culture & Care: A Joint Call for Change. There were healthcare providers, cultural workers, artists, policymakers, and researchers. The energy was there. The people too. These five prescriptions bundle what you brought to the table.
And this is what emerged: society is under pressure. Yet culture and care are already moving more than we realize. In neighborhoods and institutions. In conversations and rituals. In small gestures and large collaborations. It’s time to make that visible. Because here, the cure is taking root.
Read this as a human. As an active citizen. As someone who doesn’t wait.
Prescription #1: Make care everyone’s responsibility
Care today is organized in systems and institutions. But it is born elsewhere: in a conversation, a gesture, a neighborhood that looks out for one another. Well-being is something we create together, every day anew. Art and culture help with this: they create encounters and imagine how co-existence could look different. It starts with each of us.
What can you do?
- Be there for people in your surroundings. The smallest gestures make a big difference.
- Bring people together. Create moments of encounter.
- Share stories, art, or experiences that resonate and connect.
- Take initiative. In your neighborhood, your organization, your network. Care is not for ‘others.’ It's yours.
Prescription #2: Acknowledge culture in care
Culture is already present in care. In conversations at the bedside, in farewell rituals. In the caregiver who tries something new. We just rarely name it as such. Yet the evidence is there: culture contributes to prevention, recovery, and quality of life. The shift may seem small, but it is profound: from art as a project to culture as an integral part of care. New words can help with this. What about a ‘museum cure’ or ‘soundbath’?
What can you do?
- Bring culture into your practice or daily life.
- Experiment with new language. Say ‘museum cure.’ See what happens.
- Listen first. Then look for what you share with the other.
- Share a story. One good story does more than a meeting about a meeting.
Prescription #3: Shift perspectives
Real change begins in how we look at each other. From patient to human. From caregiver to partner. From artist to co-creator. From citizen to co-builder. Consciously step out of your own role. Seek out people who work or think differently. It is precisely at these intersections that new ideas grow. No one changes the world alone. Fortunately.
What can you do?
- Step outside your own sector. Knock on doors. Say hello.
- Be a bridge-builder. Translate ideas between worlds that don’t yet know each other.
- Create spaces where people can meet. The rest will follow naturally.
Prescription #4: Connect what already exists. Become a bridge-builder
Look around you. It’s already happening. All over, initiatives are blooming where care and culture meet. But they often remain temporary or isolated. The challenge is not to start something new every time. The challenge is to connect what already exists. Because together, we are stronger than apart. Build lasting collaborations. Turn loose projects into a coherent whole. Because what connects, grows. And works contagiously.
What can you do?
- Do you know the initiatives in your neighborhood? Make them visible.
- Share knowledge. Share tools. Share experiences. Just do it.
- Build partnerships that last longer than one project.
- Join in. Or help build something new.
Prescription #5: Anchor what works
What some are already doing, works. It shows what is possible. But without solid anchoring, it disappears again. That’s a shame. So scale up. Anchor. Embed. Give it space to endure. This requires courageous choices: long-term funding, space for innovation, and the will to reform systems. From experiments to sustainable practices. Because we are the system. And thus, the change.
What can you do?
- Bring what works to the attention of policymakers.
- Document and share what works. Make it transferable.
- Start small. Think scalable.
Note: This cure works contagiously.
Will you help this cure take root?
Let us know how you think care and culture can nourish each other to help society flourish.
Discover the conference
Conference Culture & Care
Culture & Care: A Joint Call for Change explored how culture and care can strengthen and inspire one another in addressing today’s complex societal challenges.
This was Culture & Care 2026
The conference Culture & Care 2026 brought together hundreds of people around a shared ambition: building a more caring society.