Culture on prescription strengthens the participants: "All the pain was gone"

Culture that relieves pain, breaks isolation, reduces stress and anxiety and strengthens self-confidence. In a three-year project, people from Norrbotten have been given the chance to try culture on prescription. – It is a way to make yourself visible, and express yourself in something, says Ricky Sandberg who was involved in starting the project within Region Norrbotten.

Because we have each other, because we have each other
There are those who say, I believe it's true
There is nothing, there is nothing we cannot do
Because we have each other

The song In the same car by Bo Kaspers Orchestra filled the foyer when the exhibition with works by participants in Kultur på recept was inaugurated in the Regionhuset. The lines of text capture part of what is at the core of Kultur på recept. The power of meetings between people. How that power can make what feels impossible possible.

Group creation

Kultur på recept is a pilot project in several places in Europe, including Norrbotten. The project has offered group creativity to help people suffering from mild to moderate mental illness or long-term pain. The participants have worked with visual and performing arts, choral singing and dance.

The exhibition was inaugurated by regional councilor Glenn Berggård (V).

– The participants have been given opportunities for reflection and dialogue using culture as a tool. They have gained new perspectives on life. Culture on prescription is about challenging the participants in different ways, while creating a social context and security in the group, said Berggård.

Glenn Berggård and Region Norrbotten will now consider how Culture on Prescription can continue to be an opportunity in the county.

The research and project in Norrbotten clearly show that Culture on Prescription helps. The exhibition in the Region House includes not only examples of the art that has been created, but also testimonies from anonymous participants.

"Happy, positive and bubbly. Full of inspiration."

“The art of being human, the chance to be a fellow human being.”

“Strengthened and uplifted.”

“Eager, happy, forgets time.”

Careful follow-up

One of those present at the opening was Anette Winblad von Walter, the cultural director of the Norrbotten Region. She first heard about Culture on Prescription in 2009, when it was just a proposal. She is well acquainted with the project.

– We know that it means a lot. And that's precisely because we have done careful follow-up where the participants have been able to assess how they feel when they start, and how they feel after the project has been completed, she said.

Among the art on display are personal walking poles, created from natural materials. For some participants, the pole symbolizes how they have progressed in life, or perhaps the importance of taking one step at a time.

“I have learned that I am enough.”

A number of the hiking poles created by the participants are included in the exhibition.

Focus on the process

The exhibition also includes drawings and paintings created. The art activity did not focus on the final result but on what the process, conversations and reflections did for the participant.

“It has been very fun and rewarding to share thoughts and experiences together.”

The dance part focused on the joy of movement and lack of demands. The dance has helped to release tension, demands and musts, and reduced stress and anxiety. In dancing together there was also community, joy and support.

“Made me feel like all the pain was gone”

In the voice and singing section, participants worked on breathing, movement, and taking their place in the room. Singing activates important neurotransmitters and reduces stress hormones. This is why singing is considered to relieve both depression and anxiety.

“Here I can be who I am, here I belong”

Undemanding community

The testimonies on the wall return to the importance of being with others who understand, who accept you for who you are, and being able to reflect yourself in others. The only requirement was that you did your best to show up at all.

– We know that loneliness is a big part of mental ill health. If we start to feel bad, the first thing we do is isolate ourselves, says Anette Winblad von Walter.

Anette Winblad von Walter, head of culture, now hopes that the final phase of the project will result in a good model for continuing to work with Culture on Prescription. This requires cooperation between healthcare and the cultural sector.

“Make yourself visible”

One person who is not at all surprised by the fine results is Ricky Sandberg, a former member of the project group and art consultant at Region Norrbotten. He is now retired but did not want to miss the opening.

– I have worked with art and culture my whole life. I know the power of creation and art and culture, what it can do for people. It challenges you a bit. But then there is also the fact that you meet other people, do things together, says Ricky Sandberg and continues:

– Art has its value and its importance. But also the context and that you get a role or a place. It is a way to make yourself visible, and to express yourself in something.

Ricky Sandberg previously worked at Region Norrbotten as an art consultant and was part of the project group behind Kultur på recept.

Culture on Prescription is a three-year project, partly financed by the EU fund Interreg Baltic Sea Region. The project is now in its last year and its final phase. It is about finding good models for implementation. About finding the right structures so that Culture on Prescription can be made permanent.

– We can now see that Culture on Prescription has led to increased self-confidence, and that participants have been able to go to work and education. This is a form that we need to consider how we can adopt and develop further in the Norrbotten Region, said Glenn Berggård

For some of the participants in Kultur på recept, the togetherness and exploration of art and culture continues. They have started a cultural group on their own initiative through the student association ABF.

The exhibition in the Region House can be seen from April 25 to June 10, 2025.

FACTS: Culture on prescription

• People over the age of 18 with depression, stress or anxiety, or people at risk of developing it, have been able to receive a prescription to participate in group cultural activities. 
• The pilot project has been carried out in the municipalities of Boden and Luleå. Each group has had twelve participants. They have met twice a week, for two hours each time, and worked with trained educators.
• Norrbotten Region and Sunderby Folk High School have been the Swedish project partners. 
• The project was initiated and led by Odense Municipality in Denmark and project partners are located in six additional countries: Latvia, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Germany and Sweden.
• The project has had three phases: preparations, pilot project with evaluation and finally work on an action plan for implementation.
• A number of countries and even regions in Sweden have already implemented Culture on Prescription.

Read more:
ST doctor Henrik tried Culture on prescription
Project information on Sunderby Folk High School's website

Text and image: Sara Stylbäck Vesa