On the occasion of Aurora Dialogues – Joining Forces for Mental Health, Therme Art and MYND, a mental health initiative by wellbeing leader Therme Group and neuroscience pioneer MindMaze, presented a Wellbeing Culture Forum talk titled Towards a Culture of Mental Wellbeing, supported by Impact One.

July 22, 2022 | Towards a Culture of Mental Wellbeing. Aurora Dialogues is a series of roundtable discussions focusing on mental health related topics, hosted by the Aurora Institute, a breakthrough nonprofit, nonpartisan organisation bringing together the world’s leaders at the forefront of technology, science, art, fashion and philanthropy, to improve mental health globally.

MYND and Therme Art’s Wellbeing Culture Forum talk, Towards a Culture of Mental Wellbeing explored how the social, political and economical bones that build our current cultural framework need to be reimagined in order to serve collective wellness and vitality. Bringing together interdisciplinary cultural creatives such as artists, scientists and entrepreneurs, the panel discussed mental health as a complex and holistic global public good that requires action and intervention beyond the health sector, including the roles that experiential art and community play in these processes.

Traditional approaches to global wellbeing are still often limited to the health industry. However, other non-canonical interpretations of community healing that entail more holistic approaches must also be accounted for. The panel aimed to highlight the positive impact that cultural initiatives, driven by productions such as experiential and immersive art, have on mental health, so that we are given a chance  to reconsider the strategies we are currently employing to expand the accessibility of wellbeing across communities. As such, the conversation focused on the central role that cultural regeneration must play in mental and environmental rehabilitation.

From left: Mikolaj Sekutowicz, Refik Anadol, Roksana Ciurysek-Gedir, and Benjamin Habbel

In thinking about the question of healing through culture, New Media Artist and Director Refik Anadol was commissioned by MYND to create a software-based artwork titled Sense of Healing: AI Data Painting, 2022 at Evening of Discovery. The work emerged from Refik Anadol Studio’s long-term research process into creating meditative art based on neurological data findings. The work lies at the intersection of neuroscience and design to visualise fundamental questions about the architecture of the human brain with cutting-edge data visualisation tools provided by neuroscience pioneer MindMaze. The work was created through interpreted datasets of brain activities collected with EEG sensors, fMRI and DTI imaging techniques to create a multisensory immersive artwork that promotes mental health through art and supports collective healing processes.

Bringing together artists, entrepreneurs, and wellbeing experts, Towards a Culture of Mental Wellbeing discussed mental health as a complex and vital public good that requires transdisciplinary action and intervention beyond the health sector, and how through its most impactful and holistic implementations, can give rise to individual and communal healing globally.

Panellists: 

Refik Anadol, New Media Artist and Director
Roksana Ciurysek-Gedir, Founder of Possible X, Entrepreneur and Creative
Benjamin Habbel, CEO of Aethos Hotels and Founder & CEO of Limestone Capital AG
Mikolaj Sekutowicz, Curator and CEO of Therme Art, Vice President of Therme Group, and Founder & Chairman of Impact One