WELLBEING CULTURE FORUM

The Wellbeing Culture Forum is a series of online and offline discussions devised in response to the ongoing pandemic and the ensuing global crisis. Gathering experts from diverse fields, the series fosters the necessary collaboration and knowledge transfer to realise a vision of the city and its cultural activity in symbiosis with the natural world, generating a holistic approach towards the health of humanity.

The Wellbeing Culture Forum conversations are designed to create ‘insights for action’ that will become part of the ‘Wellbeing City Manifesto’. This will be made freely available worldwide, for individuals and organisations to implement and influence positive cultural change.

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2021

EXPERIENCING TO RECONNECT
The Transformative Potential of Art, 14 April

The Wellbeing Culture Forum returns for a new season with a very special panel discussion presented in collaboration with Serpentine Galleries, featuring: Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries (Moderator); Es Devlin, artist and designer; Torkwase Dyson, artist; Tino Sehgal, artist; and Mikolaj Sekutowicz, CEO and Curator, Therme Art (Host). “Experiencing to Reconnect” explores the power of art to forge community through shared experience, helping us navigate this crisis and the next. While working in different media and registers, the artists in conversation explore questions of experience and shared space, creating new points of connection to foster a renewed awareness of our symbiotic relationship to each other and our natural world. Learn more here.

2020 

BREAKING BAUHAUS
Renewing its Principles 100 Years Later, 11 September 

The Bauhaus movement revolutionised our cities and lifestyles 100 years ago out of an artistic impulse. Today, under the sign of the mono-cultivation of our planet, climate change, and viral pandemics, we ask ourselves, what could it mean to renew the humanist Bauhaus idea with local and ecological differences and desires, reigniting it anew. Watch the livestream and learn more here. 

GROWING GAIA I & II 
Transforming a Hypothesis into Action, 11 September 

The Gaia Hypothesis, proposed by Lynn Margulis and James Lovelock in the 1970s, has become particularly relevant in light of the current crises. It is undeniably clear that today we must reposition ourselves within the totality of nature. How can artists, architects, scientists, and designers bring this theory to consciousness and translate it into action? Watch the livestream and learn more here. 

CREATING IN CRISIS
Systems of Creativity and Improvisation, 12 September

The COVID-19 pandemic has unsettled our institutionalised methods of art production and its reception. We must now learn to create in the void of uncertainty. How can we learn from improvisation, both as well as an artistic and architectural methodology. We must now learn to create in the void of uncertainty but crisis have always been a strong catalyst for creativity. How can we learn from improvisation? Watch the livestream and learn more here.

ART AS HEALING
Transforming Interior and Exterior Life, 12 September 

Art can inspire, but it can also help us cope with the conflicts and confusions of daily life and locate spaces of community in dislocation. How can the therapeutic qualities of art serve as a catalyst for progress, in both urban and natural landscapes? How can art design spaces for spirituality, meaning and contemplation? Watch the livestream and learn more here. 

LIQUID EXPERIENCES
Immersive Experiences in Art, Nature and Cities, 12 September 

Today, more and more contemporary artists are extending their canvas into physical, social and mental spaces, thus creating alternative spaces, instead of ones defined by history, religion and politics. The recently launched Superblue initiative unites artists using this approach worldwide. How can we expand this artistic impulse to create holistic urban spaces that enhance our mental and physical wellbeing? How could an experience economy promote sustainable and ecological living Watch the livestream and learn more here.

CRITICAL CULTURE
Artistic Strategies in Reshaping Reality, 13 September 

Among the acute crises, the fragility of our entire culture is revealed. Cultural players in particular are called upon today to apply their practices of transformation, adaptation and manifestation developed in the art space to social realities, to sculpt the future. The talk reflected self-critically on new responsibilities. Watch the livestream and learn more here. 

BERLIN, WHERE ARE WE NOW?
A City as an Artistic Laboratory, 13 September 

Since the fall of the wall, Berlin has been an epicentre for artistic and architectural experiments, attracting artists from all over the world. Recently, however, the international press spoke about “Berlin fatigue”. Within the current zeitgeist, how can we take up, control and revive what was created in Berlin by a historical coincidence? What new ideas and forms emerged in the last half year that can be the driving force for innovation in the years to come? Watch the livestream and learn more here. 

HUMAN CITIES
Fostering a Systems-Approach to Urban Life, 2 September

Catalysed by the recent publication of Therme Group’s ambitious green paper Human Cities: Increasing Urban Wellbeing, this Wellbeing Culture Forum session will outline the traits of the human city, focusing on the vital role of culture and creativity in creating urban environments more compatible with the wellbeing both of humans and the natural world. Watch the online discussion and learn more here.

ARCHITECTURE OF HEALTH AND HAPPINESS
The Gains of Collaborative Design, 29 July

In order to truly enhance human wellbeing, city design needs to move beyond optimising single parameters to a more holistic approach. Architectures of Health and Happiness explored additional components such as inclusivity, diversity and fulfilment, which are needed to achieve healthier and more robust cities. Watch the online discussion and learn more here.

THE SOCIAL CULTURE OF CITIES
Shaping a Participatory Reality, 24 June

In partnership with British Council and moderated by their Director of Visual Arts, Emma Dexter, this session brought together voices from across disciplines, starting from architecture and expanding into art, design and science, to investigate how cultural adaptation in urban environments is crucial to navigating our changing world. Watch the online discussion and learn more here.

CULTURE OF LIVE EVENTS
Redesigning Common Rituals, 17 June

Featuring, among others, Global Director of Art Basel Marc Spiegler and Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Manchester International Festival and The Factory, John McGrath, this discussion examined the importance of live events for the wellbeing of cultural life in society. Watch the online discussion and learn more here.

ART IN ARCHITECTURE
How Art Can Liberate Architecture, 27 May

Featuring curator and Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries, Hans Ulrich Obrist, along with architects Junya Ishigami, Sumayya Vally, Frida Escobedo, Stefano Boeri, artist Torkwase Dyson as well as Therme Art curator Mikolaj Sekutowicz. Inspired by the Serpentine Pavilion Programme, the session focused on the relationship between art and architecture. Watch the online discussion and learn more here.

RE-ENTERING REALITY
Curatorial Session, 20 May

Led by architect Arthur Mamou-Mani and Professor Sarah Wilson, the session involved a VR walk-through of Mamou-Mani’s Catharsis, the structure originally planned for Burning Man 2020. You can read more about the event here.

ACCESS INFORMATION

All public events will be streamed LIVE at the top of this page, and are also broadcasted through Therme Art’s media channels:
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube.

If you are joining a private forum session on Zoom:

Download the app on your phone or computer in advance

Check the microphone and camera of your device

To join the session via Zoom:

Click the link in your invitation

Submit the provided password

Alternatively, insert the meeting ID manually along with the password

Click “Join with video” in order to participate with video

We suggest that you use a headset if possible, and to find a quiet place without distractions.

We kindly request that you mute yourself unless you want to comment or ask a question in order to avoid disrupting the discussion.

On your TV: 

If you have a Smart TV, games console, or streaming device (like an Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Chromecast, etc.), you can watch the forum through your TV with the YouTube app.

Search Therme Art on YouTube and click the subscribe button to view the stream and to receive notifications when we go live.

We look forward to seeing you soon!