Culture Rx

The Culture Rx Initiative is a Mass Cultural Council (MCC) program dedicated to improving health and well-being through cultural participation.

We see culture as a necessary ingredient for public health, one that is often neglected or underappreciated. The CultureRx Initiative aims to change that.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), the Public Health Institute of Western MA (PHIWM) the Springfield Caring Health Center, the Community Music School of Springfield, Enchanted Circle and the Springfield Museums have partnered to launch the MCC’s Culture RX Social Prescription Program in Western Massachusetts.

The Springfield Cultural Partnership is proud to play an advisory role and serve on the working groups. MCC’s Culture Rx page & Enchanted Circle’s Culture Rx page

With a strong foundation in this literature and an existing mission that views access and participation in arts and cultural experiences as central to health and well-being, the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) enlisted the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts (PHIWM) to evaluate a pilot project and perform an assessment of a community considered key to understanding and expanding their “CultureRx” initiative, one situated in Springfield (Caring Health Center) and the other in the Berkshires (MACONY Pediatrics). Read the full report here:

In partnership with Springfield Museums, 7 amazing artists were selected to bring art to Pynchon Park Plaza! The art is literally or abstractly inspired by Springfield’s cultural and historical legacies, including past and/or present day residents, neighborhoods, cultural traditions and landmarks, places and landscapes, architecture, and other distinctive qualities that make the city a special place to live, work, and visit. READ MORE ABOUT SPARK! AND THE ARTISTS