“When you are well, you can help better.” Under this premise, The Wellbeing Summit kicks off today in Bilbao, a global event that for three days will invite Bilbao residents and visitors to reflect on the formula for achieving well-being. In total, more than 1,000 people related to social innovation will meet for three days to share experiences and explore collaborations.
“It will be an opportunity for powerful links to be created between them and to develop their projects,” explained Sandrine Woitrin, one of the directors of The Wellbeing Project. Because these days in Bilbao you will be able to hear the experience of small entrepreneurs, such as the testimony of an academy that promotes a different training formula or that of the Ana Bella Foundation for battered women that works so that they have a positive perception of themselves.
It is just a small part of the complete program of conferences, talks and panels that will bring together more than 50 experts from the cultural, scientific and government fields. The presence of scientists, government representatives or spiritual leaders from more than 60 countries on five continents stands out.
Because the organizers are convinced that internal well-being is transmitted to the outside and this ends up favoring innovation and creation. “We will try to make it an exchange between those who come here and those who live here,” explained Woitrin.
In this exchange, art will play a fundamental role as a formula to achieve well-being. To this end, twelve works have been installed, curated especially for the occasion and which are the work of contemporary artists of international relevance.
One of the most striking works is ‘Scientia’, which means knowledge in Latin. Grimanesa Amorós, a Peruvian artist based in New York, has wanted to use light as a common thread to improve the mood and mental health of individuals. Her work traces a triangle between the architecture of the Alhóndiga, the individual and the installation itself. It is made up of glasses that at sunset become mirrors that reflect the last rays of daylight. “It implies a transformation of oneself physically, emotionally and mentally,” the artist described.
A few meters away, a series of car mirrors tied to traffic posts capture the attention of passers-by. It is the installation that Carlos Garaicoa has entitled ‘We dream on the scratched surface of a glass’. In fact, when one approaches the mirrors, one will notice that they include thought-provoking messages such as the one that reads “caught in the heavy breath of evil.”
And not far from there, June Crespo invites the visitor to stand in front of five concrete sculptures placed directly on the ground. They are blocks painted blue with which it is intended to allude to the space itself as a place to rest, interact or, why not, dance and enjoy.
The performing arts will also play an important role in a program that includes concerts, shows, workshops and creative laboratories. In addition, those who want to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of the city can attend one of the yoga and meditation sessions in the park that have been scheduled for the duration of the summit. The objective, explained Woitrin, is that both the participants and the residents of Bilbao can experience “the positive impact of promoting well-being in all aspects of society to obtain better results.”
In fact, the very transformation that the city of Bilbao has undergone has been one of the factors in choosing the location. “It is an example of what transformation means from within and through art and culture,” they explain from the leadership of the summit. The event is planned to be biannual, so everything indicates that Bilbao will become every two years, for a few days, the mecca of world well-being.
