Abstract
Abstract The project has two aims. On one side, it intends to enrich the debate around the relationship between art and wellbeing, focusing on the recent idea of cultural welfare. In particular, it aims to go beyond the prevailing focus on health and on individuals, reframing it from the perspective of cultural welfare ecosystems capable of virtuously impacting the forms of life, living, producing, consuming and organizing. On the other side, the project is dedicated to improving the knowledge and awareness of the potentialities and challenges of cultural welfare practices through collecting data and promoting an active and participatory knowledge production process at the local level in different Italian territories. It is argued that the combination of these two main research tracks can pursue the elaboration of place-based and integrated policies oriented toward promoting inclusive growth of territories. The project assumes three main analytical perspectives. The first one concerns cultural participation, linked to the development of cultural capabilities, which are affected by inequalities in terms of material, cognitive and social resources. The second relates to social innovation to answer societal needs by improving social relations and empowerment. Key aspects of social innovation are the role played by the territory as a place where new social practices can emerge, participation as a process of knowledge production, and the combinations of actors based on collaboration and partnerships. A third dimension concerns the paradigm of cultural value and its relation to non-economic categories and to "Institutional Value," which refers to how the organizations behave when interacting with citizens and the territory and to the generation of growth and resilience of the local community. The project has been articulated in four phases. 1. a background research aiming at enriching the understanding of cultural welfare through a review of the academic literature and identifying the social semantics at the EU level by analyzing policy documents and reports on the link between art/culture and wellbeing; 2. mapping of cultural welfare projects in Italy in terms of attributes and challenges with the aim of achieving a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the Italian context; 3. promotion of a “place-based” knowledge about how local cultural welfare ecosystems can work in territories (in the city of Bologna and in the Marche region) through an action-research aiming at setting up contexts for co-learnings and sharing knowledge on how to develop cultural welfare ecosystems and on inclusive monitoring tools; 4. dissemination at the national and international level of the Italian debate on cultural welfare pursued by the project.
Results achieved
The project achieved results at theoretical, empirical, methodological and policy levels, contributing significantly to the advancement of knowledge on cultural welfare and to the development of innovative approaches for understanding the relationship between culture, wellbeing, and territorial development. One of the main achievements of the research was the elaboration of a comprehensive conceptual framework that reframed cultural welfare from an ecosystemic perspective. Moving beyond the dominant approaches that primarily focus on individual health outcomes and therapeutic benefits, the project demonstrated how cultural welfare can be understood as a complex ecosystem of actors and practices capable of generating social value through participation and inclusive forms of local development. This theoretical contribution helped clarify the conceptual boundaries of a field that is still emerging internationally and characterized by significant terminological and methodological fragmentation. A second major result concerned the systematic investigation of the cultural welfare landscape in Italy. Through extensive desk research, document analysis, stakeholder engagement and qualitative fieldwork, the project produced the first comprehensive mapping of cultural welfare initiatives, funding schemes, policy frameworks and governance models operating at national level. The creation of a dedicated database of cultural welfare calls and projects enabled the identification of recurrent patterns, organizational configurations, enabling factors, and structural challenges affecting the sector. The research highlighted both the growing relevance of cultural welfare practices within Italian cultural and social policies and the persistence of critical issues related to sustainability and evaluation among stakeholders. The project also generated significant knowledge through its action-research activities conducted in different territorial contexts, including the cities of Bologna and Reggio Emilia and several localities in the Marche region. Through the analysis of a wide range of case studies involving performing arts, museums, community theatre, dance, youth participation projects and cultural initiatives aimed at vulnerable groups, the research identified the mechanisms through which cultural welfare ecosystems emerge and produce social impact. Particular attention was devoted to understanding the role of local networks, collaborative governance arrangements, participatory processes in facilitating interactions between cultural institutions, welfare services, public administrations, third-sector organizations and local communities. The comparative analysis of the selected cases demonstrated that the effectiveness of cultural welfare initiatives depends not only on the quality of cultural activities themselves but also on the strength of the relational infrastructures that support them. Another important achievement was the development and testing of innovative methodological tools for the study and monitoring of cultural welfare ecosystems. The project adopted a participatory and place-based approach that combined interviews, focus groups, participatory observation, co-design workshops, digital ethnographic methods. These activities enabled researchers and stakeholders to engage in processes of collective reflection and knowledge co-production, generating shared understandings. The project therefore contributed not only to the production of knowledge about cultural welfare but also to the development of practical tools that can be adapted to territorial contexts. The empirical findings highlighted how cultural welfare practices can contribute to reducing barriers to participation, creating opportunities for social interaction, strengthening a sense of belonging. The analysis also emphasized the relevance of institutional value, showing how cultural organizations can contribute to the resilience and development of local communities through their modes of interaction with citizens and territorial stakeholders. The project achieved significant dissemination and capacity-building outcomes as well. Throughout its duration, the research fostered dialogue among scholars, policymakers, cultural practitioners, artists, social operators and public institutions through conferences, seminars, workshops, and stakeholder engagement activities. The organization of dissemination events at the University of Bologna and the University of Urbino, together with participation in several national and international scientific conferences, facilitated the circulation of knowledge and promoted the consolidation of a multidisciplinary community of practice around cultural welfare. The publication of peer-reviewed open-access articles and the development of dedicated dissemination materials further strengthened the visibility and accessibility of the project’s findings.Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Roberta Paltrinieri
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento delle Arti
Coordinatore:
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna(Italy)
Contributo totale di progetto: Euro (EUR) 262.283,00
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 139.934,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
30/11/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
