The Wellbeing Culture Forum is an ongoing series of discussions launched by Therme Art in May 2020 in response to the global pandemic and ensuing global crises, to address the complexity of living in today’s hyper-connected, globalised and digital society. 

Co-curated by Mikolaj Sekutowicz and Hans Ulrich Obrist, the Wellbeing Culture Forum invites experts from across fields to engage in open dialogue, collaboration and knowledge transfer to realise a vision of the city and its cultural activity in symbiosis with the natural world.

This year, we were met with powerful, engaging and inspiring contributions from familiar and new relationships within our network. We would like to express our deep gratitude to those who joined us on this journey with eye-opening and actionable contributions. We look forward to welcoming you to our programme next year!

WELLBEING CULTURE SYMPOSIUM
31 March – 4 April 2022
Meisenheim, Germany

Therme Art and One Health Research Centre hosted its first-ever Wellbeing Culture Symposium earlier this year in Meisenheim and Disibodenberg, Germany in partnership with IKEM and Serpentine. Inspired by the legacy of the 12th-century Benedictine abbess Hildegard von Bingen, the symposium was co-curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Mikolaj Sekutowicz to encompass three days of engaging, multidisciplinary keynotes and roundtable discussions inspired by Hildegard von Bingen’s integrative and progressive approach to life.

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL PRACTICE 
21 April 2022
2022 La Biennale di Venezia

From left to right: Hans Ulrich Obrist, Emma Ridgway, Sonia Boyce, Precious Okoyomon and Monilola Ilupeju

In collaboration with the British Council and Serpentine, Therme Art hosted The Impact of Social Practice in honour of Sonia Boyce OBE RA’s exhibition Feeling Her Way at the British Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia. The conversation invited Sonia Boyce among key participants to discuss the impact of social practice within communities and the art world at large, featuring the artist’s installation as the main point of departure. 

THE FUTURE OF WELLBEING
12 May 2022
DLD Munich 22

From left to right: Mikolaj Sekutowciz, Moran Cerf, Nina Gualinga, Jeanne de Kroon and Sumayya Vally

DLD Munich Conference 2022, © Elias Hassos for DLD / Hubert Burda Media

Leading wellbeing provider Therme Group partnered with global conference network DLD Munich 22 – DLD Conference: Digital-Life-Design to host a Wellbeing Culture Forum talk on 12 May at DLD22 in Munich. Hosted by cultural incubator Therme Art, the talk opened on the last day of DLD22. Titled The Future of Wellbeing, the panel fell in line with this year’s DLD conference motto “Reality Rules!?” and invited experts across fields to assess poignant technological, economic, societal, and ecological shifts present on a global scale.

INVISIBLE SYMPHONIES: HEALING THROUGH PARTICIPATORY ART AND HUMAN-CENTRED TECHNOLOGIES
16 June 2022
Design Miami/ Basel

From left to right: Mikolaj Sekutowicz, Tatiana Kranz, Sveta Mordovskaya, Simon Denny, James Bantone, Brandon Ndife, Stephanie Comilang, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Hans Ulrich Obrist

In collaboration with Superblue and MYND, Therme Art presented the talk Invisible Symphonies: Healing Through Participatory Art and Human-Centred Technologies on the occasion of Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s installation Pulse Topology opening at Design Miami/ Basel 2022. The discussion drew inspiration from Lozano-Hemmer’s installation as it created a platform to exhibit people’s most symbolic biorhythm: their heartbeat. What happens when our pulse becomes tangible through art? Gathering artists from a diverse set of visual practices, this iteration of Therme’s Wellbeing Culture Forum explored the spatial strategies that can be utilised within art, architecture, and technology to support mental and physical wellbeing.

WELLBEING INFRASTRUCTURE: A CALL FOR A NEW EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACH TOWARD BUILT ENVIRONMENTS
29 June 2022
The Klosters Forum

The Klosters Forum 2022  © Julian Tse

Therme Group, the One Health Research Centre and Therme Art attended The Klosters Forum 2022 to host a Wellbeing Culture Forum workshop on the necessity of integrating health-promoting, regenerative architecture into urban development. Titled Wellbeing Infrastructure: A Call for a New Evidence-Based Approach Toward Built Environments, the workshop comprised discussions, working groups and research projects, bringing together multidisciplinary experts and progressive leaders from the fields of climate science, environmental conservation and architecture to initiate actionable plans toward a realisable Wellbeing City.

TOWARDS A CULTURE OF WELLBEING
22 July 2022
Aurora Dialogue Series

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

MYND and Therme Art hosted the panel at the Aurora Dialogue series Towards a Culture of Wellbeing, to  discuss mental health as a complex and holistic global public good that requires action and intervention beyond the health sector, whilst assessing the roles that experiential art, culture and community play in these processes. 

AYA CONFERENCE
30 September 2022
Cidade Matarazzo, São Paulo

From left to right: Refik Anadol, Mikolaj Sekutowicz, Alexandre Allard, Isku Hua and Patricia Ellen da Silva 

In September, Impact One and One Health Research Center visited Cidade Matarazzo in São Paolo to co-host the Aya Conference alongside Aya Earth Partners. Following the two panels, the partners signed a memorandum of understanding which pledged to develop future cities through sustainable technological solutions. 

VISIONARY SCIENCE & INNOVATION TRANSFORMING MIND HEALTH FOR ALL
10 October 2022
The Carlyle Forum 2022

From left to right: Mikolaj Sekutowicz, Roskana Ciurysek-Gedir, Tej Tadi and Olaf Blanke

Our final Wellbeing Culture Forum of 2022 was hosted in collaboration with MYND and Impact One on World Mental Health Day at the 2022 Carlyle Forum. Titled Visionary Science & Innovation Transforming Mind Health For All, the talk invited experts in the fields of neuroscience and urban development to discuss our urgent need to strengthen the healthcare and healing systems in our cities in light of rapid urban growth and expansion.