For this fourth Cultural Mobility Webinar, On the Move proposed to explore the positive and negative impacts of international cultural mobility on the mental health and well-being of artists and culture professionals. Many studies and cultural initiatives at local, national, or European levels have investigated the various contributions of arts and culture to the well-being and good health, including mental health, of the population. Significant research projects have established clear and concrete evidence of how our field supports the sustainability and resilience of our societies, particularly when targeting vulnerable communities. However, very few pieces of literature have investigated the well-being and mental health of the creative workforce itself.
In recent years, this theme has gradually come into the spotlight when addressing other burning issues in the culture field: the impacts of gender-based violence on mental health and well-being, the poor work conditions of arts professionals, discrimination against diverse, parenting or disabled culture workers, of the psycho-social stressors of refugee artists, of climate change related anxieties and contradictory injunctions, etc.
Cross-border mobility is often seen as a key component of a professional trajectory, not only because of the knowledge and cultural growth it brings but also because of the economic sustainability it can support. The international dimension is particularly necessary and important to the artists and culture professionals who don’t have access to such opportunities offered in their local/national ecosystem.
They have to navigate the many paradoxes and tensions linked to the realities of cultural mobility: balancing work and private life while traveling frequently away from home and their family, developing financial sustainability while being dependent on foreign gatekeepers and funders, applying to international opportunities while facing visa rejections, fleeing dangers and relocating in a safer country while not having the recognised status or knowledge to operate in this new context…
Learn more about stories, experiences related to these paradoxes and tensions with our three guest speakers as well as potential solutions (also highlighted in our resources below).
- Moderator: Yohann Floch (Director of Operations, On the Move)
- Panelists:
- Heather O’Donnell, Director (TGR-The Green Room - On the Move Member)
- Joris Janssens (Ph.D.), Expert Culture & Regional Development (IDEA Consult)
- Krystel Khoury (Ph.D), arts manager / researcher
A webinar co-funded by the European Union, in collaboration with Howlround.