Museums in Sitges and the Sitges CAP (Primary Care Center) are collaborating on the project "Lligams. Art that creates bonds" to combat unwanted loneliness through culture

Sitges Museums and the Sitges CAP have launched the pilot project “Lligams. Art that creates connections”, an arts in health initiative aimed at adult people affected by unwanted loneliness. The program aims to analyze the impact of a cultural intervention on emotional well-being and the reduction of feelings of loneliness, through artistic experience and community participation.

The project is promoted by the Museum Service of the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya, with the involvement of Sitges Museums and the Catalan Health Institute (CAP Sitges), and is coordinated by Adhoc Cultura. The sessions began on April 13 and the implementation will last until May 25.

This initiative proposes the Sitges Museums as a space for refuge, meeting and personal expression. Through a series of guided sessions, the 18 participants go through different sensory and creative proposals —observing works, writing, listening, working with the senses or collective creation— that allow them to share experiences, emotions and memories.

As stated in the project workbook, “the bond goes beyond what is seen” and the main objective is to offer a safe space where each participant can express themselves freely and build meaningful relationships. The project focuses on addressing unwanted loneliness and the direct impact that it has on physical and mental health, especially in the elderly, as it can increase the risk of suffering from anxiety, depression and cognitive impairment, among others.

In this context, the project “Lligams. Art that creates bonds” incorporates a psycho-emotional intervention through art in museums, offering a therapeutic space where the artistic experience becomes a tool to express emotions, strengthen self-esteem and foster social bonds. This approach integrates culture and health to promote the comprehensive well-being of the participants and contribute to preventing the adverse effects of social isolation.

In museums, for example, emotions have been worked on through the observation of paintings and sculptures, promoting the identification and expression of feelings. Works such as ‘El desconsol’, by Josep Llimona, have allowed us to reflect on what they evoke and how they make us feel, as well as connect with the sensitivity of other pieces, such as the well-known image of ‘Nena de la clavellina’, by Santiago Rusiñol. The senses have also been explored by listening to sounds captured in different spaces of the Cau Ferrat Museum, as well as mindfulness practices have been carried out in emblematic rooms, promoting calm, presence and connection with the environment.

Project sessions

The program has been structured through six sessions and a closing, developed over several weeks:

April 13 — First session: Arts in Health. Emotions

Rocamora Room of the Maricel Museum

April 20 — Second session: Arts in Health. Looking with other eyes

Rocamora Room of the Maricel Museum

April 27 — Third session: Arts in Health. Calming words (mindfulness)

Maricel Museum viewpoint

May 4 — Fourth session: Arts in Health. With the five senses (sensory)

Rocamora Kitchen of the Cau Ferrat Museum

May 11 — Fifth session: Arts in Health. Listening with mindfulness

Maricel Museum Viewpoint

May 18 — Sixth session: Arts in Health. Accompanied by flowers and colors (artistic creation)

Rocamora Room of the Maricel Museum

May 25 — Closing: Arts in Health. Let's celebrate the bonds

Maricel Museum Viewpoint

Culture and health: an alliance with social impact

This initiative is part of the lines of work that promote the relationship between culture and health, highlighting the potential of museums as active agents in improving people's well-being. With its participation in this pilot project, Sitges Museums reinforces its commitment to an accessible, inclusive and transformative culture, capable of generating spaces of care, relationship and social impact in the territory.

The Catalan Institute of Health (ICS) has incorporated the Arts in Health methodology and strategy into its operational framework and has an active healthcare expertise program (PADEICS) on this strategy, which is the internal plan that analyzes, reflects and advises the institution on professional projects that use the arts in its healthcare practice. This union between culture and health understands arts in health as a very wide range of activities and actions that the artistic sector and the community environment can offer to healthcare professionals when addressing a specific pathology, whether as an intervention within a therapeutic plan or in health prevention and promotion activities.