Cultural policy as a governmental proxy tool for improved health: the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare’s collaborations with cultural workers 1970–1975

Abstract

This article highlights cultural policy as a governmental proxy to address political matters beyond the cultural domain–here civil health–and the need to problematize and historicize ‘arts in health’ policies. The article centres on the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare’s collaborations with cultural workers 1970–1975, framed by three contextual developments: politicization of the cultural sector, call for innovative governmental information, and changing character of health information. Theoretically, the article draws from the field of cultural policy research, with an emphasis on historiographical perspectives. The result shows that despite interdependence, the collaborations were an arena where interests clashed. The main conflict lay in what art should seek to change for the better: society or its citizens? However, the conflicts were also due to a mixture of roles: the agency suddenly found itself a patron of the arts, and the cultural workers producers of governmental information.