Culture is good for your health! The experience of the Cultural Occupation circuit for Health in the Federal District, Brazil.

Abstract

The present article acknowledges the importance of Culture and Health collaboration as an important intersectoral endeavour, which is still emerging in the field of health promotion. It reports and analyses the Circuit of Cultural Occupation for Health Promotion Project, developed by the Education, Culture and Health Program – Fiocruz in partnership with the Secretary of Culture and the Secretary of Health of the Federal District Government and the Supporting Culture Fund. The project addresses the potential of producing artistic interventions inside health institutions, aiming to enhance the understanding of culture and art as Social Determinants of Health. Therefore, we systematized the textual information referring to the activities implemented by the circuit from February 2014 to May 2015. The Circuit brings together artistic counterpart provided by the Supporting Culture Fund and the health institutions, in a way that the experience reported here has much to contribute to the discussion of the Cultural and Health interface in Brazil. Among the data analyzed, it is highlighted which kind of health institutions attended the circuit, as well as the public that participated in the activities and the artistic languages used. The article considers some elements that sustained the implementation of the Circuit of Cultural Occupation for Health Promotion.