English below

Museum Dr. Guislain, Iedereen Leest, TOON en 'Ge durft!' (Hogeschool VIVES) slaan de handen in elkaar voor de derde editie van de internationale conferentie 'Culture & Mental Health' op 26 en 27 november 2026 in Gent, bij Museum Dr. Guislain dat in 2026 haar 40ste verjaardag viert. Het conferentiethema is deze keer 'jeugd'. De conferentie zet dus initiatieven centraal die via cultuur (en lezen) het welzijn van jongeren stimuleren.

Inschrijvingen starten medio 2026. Er loopt momenteel een oproep tot bijdrages. Omwille van de internationale opzet is de voertaal in het Engels. Het programma wordt in de loop van voorjaar 2026 hieronder bekendgemaakt.

International conference 'Culture & Mental Health'

Museum Dr. Guislain, Iedereen Leest, TOON and 'Ge durft!' (Hogeschool VIVES) partner up for the third edition of the international conference Culture & Mental Health on 26 and 27 November 2026 in Ghent, Belgium, with a central focus on youth. The conference explores how culture and art can strengthen the mental health and resilience of young people, and is part of the celebration of 40 years of the Dr. Guislain Museum.

You can enter your contribution in our call for proposals until 15 March 2026.

On this page, we will publish more details about the programme. Prescriptions start around June.

Keynotes

We are thrilled to announce our first keynotes: Darren McGarvey and Winny Ang!

The conference will be opened by Scottish 2018 Orwell Prize-winning, best selling author, musician ('Loki'), social commentator and journalist Darren McGarvey. In Poverty Safary and The Social Distance Between Us he writes powerfully about poverty, systemic inequalities, class, addiction and recovery. In his latest book Trauma Industrial Complex he examines the stories we tell ourselves about our wounds. A provocative and powerful analysis of the commodification of trauma, exploring how narratives of vulnerability have become increasingly monetised and packaged. Darren McGarvey was recently inducted as Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature which deemed his books on social inequality to be of 'outstanding literary merit'.

Winny Ang works as a child and youth psychiatrist in Antwerp. She has a Master’s degree in Transcultural Psychiatry (McGill University, Canada). In addition to her clinical work with culturally diverse clients, Winny is affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Antwerp as a teaching assistant and researcher in (diversity) communication. Winny loves cross-overs and has written six children’s books. From her experience as a practitioner and writer she will reflect on the question: why are stories so important for the mental health of young people?

More information about the conference's programme will be released after the deadline of the call for proposals. Should you have any further questions about the conference, contact curator Bart De Nil.