[Culture and health: time to act. But how?]

The growing recognition of the role of culture in public health and individual care has led, in recent years, to a convergence of scientific evidence, policy initiatives and institutional frameworks. The recent European report Culture and Health: time to act reflects this process and expresses a clear commitment to integrating cultural participation into health, wellbeing and care strategies. This manuscript offers a situated reading of the report, placing it within a broader historical trajectory and within the interdisciplinary and intersectoral landscape that characterizes the culture-health nexus. It examines existing conceptual and terminological tensions, the risk of instrumentalizing artistic practices, and inequalities in the institutional recognition of the disciplines involved, both in community settings and in healthcare contexts. The paper also reviews the current momentum, shaped by the accumulation of evidence, the engagement of international organizations and the development of European and national policies. Finally, it discusses the main challenges for moving from recognition to action, highlighting the need for awareness-raising, interdisciplinary training, sustainable funding and intersectoral governance.