Healing arts: Recovering from sexual assault through creativity

Developed out of an Arts & Labor working group during Occupy Wall Street, the Art Handlers Alliance (AHA) advocates for fair compensation and improved hiring practices for art handlers. Using a “bill of rights” as a template, the AHA has been part of negotiations between employers and unions that represent some art handlers—such as the Teamsters—and obtained for workers increased compensation and benefits.

Research has found that physical movement, such as dance, can be an affective treatment and rehabilitation for people with Parkinson’s Disease. The Dance Well Initiative brings people with Parkinson’s, as well as community members, together to stage dance performances in gallery spaces as treatment and a creative response to the surrounding art.

The Send Me SFMOMA program allows people to text a number with a request based on a variable such as a object, mood, or color and receive back an image of an appropriate work in the SFMOMA collection. Through this service, which SFMOMA has made open source for other museums to use, the museum is able to connect with the public and ‘display’ a much higher percentage of its holdings.

While the passage of the Arkansas River through downtown Wichita is a natural place for activity, it took attractions to get people to come. The ArkArt project developed art installations along the river beautifying the location and providing a hook to drive pedestrian traffic.

Communal healing represents reparations in action. The Chicago Torture Justice Center, created in 2015 through a Chicago City Council reparations ordinance, advocates for wrongfully imprisoned Black men, as well as for victims of violence and torture at the hands of police. At the community center, area nonprofits like the Old Town School of Folk Music, lead workshops like the Freedom Songbook. The program uses protest songs as a way to encourage resiliency and healing in survivors.

Environments designed with soundscapes and visual art help to reduce anxiety and pain. In London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital has noted a marked improvement in patient experience, including decreased pain and even a reduction in the time women spent in labor, in the presence of artistic installations. Other hospitals in the UK report similar benefits.

Public art adds value to communities that have experienced decline in recent decades. In towns like Mansfield and Marietta, Ohio, public art plays a positive role. Murals created by groups like Mansfield Murals Inc., or by other local artists, enhance public buildings and offer a way for residents to connect and express their history. In Marietta, the Marietta Community Foundation funds the city’s Public Arts Committee.

P.ink, or Personal Ink, is a non-profit that curates a Pinterest page where women considering mastectomy tattoos can browse designs, find bios of vetted tattoo artists, and get help connecting with local artists. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the group hosts a mastectomy tattooing event called P.ink Day, where they also raise money to help survivors around the country pay for mastectomy tattoos. Using their mobile app, women can “try on” tattoos by overlaying the image onto a photograph or ordering a temporary tattoo of the image. For some women, covering scars with artwork helps emotional healing.

What started as a form of therapy turned into a business venture for this group of moms. The aim was to “empower mothers through art” and now they are selling their pieces for a profit.

The Florida nonprofit Before It’s Too Late brings together children from different communities to teach them about the environment and their ability to create change through art, like painting murals.