ART AS A TOOL
Creative Art Resources & Art Therapy
Imagine the child who can finally process overwhelming situations, using drawing as an emotional outlet, or the covid patient who is given art resources in hospitals as a way to bridge conversation and trust between medical personal and marginalized communities. Each facet of art can be used as a tool for helping people through difficult times. It can be a means of beauty, hope, and bridging a gap. Each of the individuals interviewed on the Story page shared ways that their art media is used to help others through discouraging times such as Covid-19. One perspective that isn’t shared through interview stories from my hometown is that of medical personnel or art therapists.
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The scholarly article titled “Communicating about COVID-19 Through Art: Paving the Way for Inclusion” breaks down the importance of trust in communicating, and how art can be a way to build that trust. Three specific barriers make this trust challenging and that is “(1) language differences and illiteracy, (2) limited access to traditional information sources, and (3) mistrust in the health system”(Schouten). In response to covid-19, academic medical centers were able to take promising first steps in mending these challenges by using art to convey health information. This was in the form of illustrated handouts, and animated videos including Native characters and Coloring for Covid-19 to share health information with underserved youth. (Beyer, and Kragel) Providing medical information in diverse and creative ways is using the arts to get a step closer toward equity.
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Art therapy is another way to use art to support health is to address challenges such as mental illnesses that have escalated due to the pandemic. The combination of increased stress and isolation has led to immense cases of mental illness during Covid-19. According to the American Psychological Association, “Art therapy can be a tool for individuals to use as a healthy coping method of self-care and self-expression. Art therapy offers a multiplicity of benefits, including the ability to reduce feelings of isolation and alienation.” The practice of expressing oneself through creative means can help mindfulness, self-care, and self-expression. Whether it is in a hospital setting being used by overwhelmed covid patients, or by children using sidewalk chalk at home, art therapy is a wonderful self-care activity that is helpful especially throughout the stress of the pandemic.