Artistic Interventions Research Articles

Let’s NOT Celebrate Cook: Robyn Kahukiwa’s Confrontational 2020 Exhibition

This article examines the provocative exhibition Let’s NOT Celebrate Cook, a selection of paintings by Māori artist Robyn Kahukiwa (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāti Hau, Ngāti Konohi, Whānau-a-Ruataupare) at Mahara Gallery, Waikanae, near Wellington, in 2020.[i] Employing a decolonial lens, it explores the extent to which Kahukiwa’s artistic intervention disrupts the hegemony of Western historical discourse and reclaims an Indigenous narrative. It considers how, in foregrounding an Indigenous perspective, her artworks encourage candid discussion regarding the legacy and impacts of British colonisation in present-day Aotearoa New Zealand. [i] Following an eighteen-month closure for extensive redevelopment, Mahara Gallery reopened in October 2023 under the new name of Toi MAHARA.

Psychobiological responses to choir singing and creative arts activities in children and adolescents with mental disorders: results of apilot study.

Children and adolescents living with mental health problems often experience stress and poor mood states, which may influence their quality of life and well-being. Arts interventions may improve mood and well-being and reduce physiological stress in this vulnerable population. Acohort of patients in child and adolescent psychiatry (N = 42; age range: 12-18years) participated in one of four arts activities including choir singing (n = 11), textile design (n = 9), drama (n = 16), and clownery (n = 6). They were led by professional artists and delivered through five consecutive 90-min daily afternoon sessions over the course of 1week. Questionnaires of mood and saliva samples before and after each session served to assess short-term psychobiological changes. In addition, patients reported their quality of life and well-being at the beginning and at the end of the 1‑week program. Results showed that alertness was significantly enhanced after textile design (∆post-pre = 4.08, 95% CI [0.77, 7.39]) and after singing (∆post-pre = 2.20, 95% CI [-0.55, 4.94]). Moreover, mood tended to be positively affected by textile design (∆post-pre = 2.89, 95% CI [-0.39, 6.18]). Quality of life increased significantly after singing (∆post-pre = 5.49, 95% CI [1.05, 9.92]). Arts participation except singing was associated with significant reductions in salivary cortisol (sCort) (textile design ∆post-pre = -0.81 ng/mL, 95% CI [-1.48, -0.14]; drama ∆post-pre = -0.76 ng/mL, 95% CI [-1.28, -0.24]; clownery ∆post-pre = -0.74 ng/mL, 95% CI [-1.47, -0.01]). No significant changes were observed for well-being over the whole program and salivary immunoglobulinA (sIgA) after any of the arts activities. These results suggest that arts participation can improve mood state and reduce stress in young people with mental disorders, but there is aneed for further studies.

Developing an evaluation strategy in Kashmir: assessing the impact of an arts intervention with school children in an area of conflict.

Developing an evaluation strategy in Kashmir: assessing the impact of an arts intervention with school children in an area of conflict.

MITRUSH KUTELI SI RRËFIMTAR DHE TRANSFORMIMET ZHANRORE

The influence of folklore in literature is not a new or unknown phenomenon, nor has it been so for Albanian writers between the two World Wars. Mitrush Kuteli is known as one of the first founders of Albanian prose of modernism, but at the same time, he is also known as a master storyteller who transcends genre structures and reintroduces popular motifs in the form of literary invariants. We say in the form of literary invariants because despite the literary processing he undertakes, the essence of folk ballads, songs, and tales remains unchanged, preserving even the unmotivated compositional ruptures and filling them with authorial artistic interventions such as descriptions, phraseologies, parodies, etc. However, we do not see attempts at alienating subjects and hypertextual transformations, which implies that Kuteli’s aim was the actualization of folk literature with fidelity to compositional construction, character functions, narrative balances, and the fundamental ideas of the processed material.

The social value of place-based creative wellbeing: A rapid review and evidence synthesis.

Creative well-being is an increasing field of interest to which biomedical and social sciences have made uneven contributions. The instrumental value of culture and its subsequential public investment is grounded in the interplay of social, cultural and economic capital to attain and preserve wellbeing and health and foster social mobility. The current evidence addresses the effectiveness of arts interventions in improving illnesses. Little attention has been paid to the social value of creative wellbeing for the general population. This paper is a rapid review and evidence synthesis that aims to answer the question, 'What is the social value of place-based arts and culture interventions at individual (wellbeing) and community (social inequalities) levels in the UK and Europe?'. After a systematic search of five databases, search engines, and a call for evidence in August 2022, 14 out of 974 sources met the inclusion criteria. Studies were organised into three themes (Community, Events, Museums), and outcomes were analysed considering the indicators and dimensions of wellbeing (Office for National Statistics). The review evidenced that creative wellbeing leads to improvements in wellbeing outcomes and can contribute to alleviating social determinants of health. However, considering their impact on the underlying causes of structural social inequalities requires caution.

Building peace narratives between young conflict victims and university students: an analysis of participatory animation strategies in My story: The children who fought war in Colombia

ABSTRACT This article presents an analysis of the production of the animated documentary series My Story. The Children Who Fought War in Colombia. The series was developed through a participatory creation process between young victims of the armed conflict and student animators from the Visual Arts programme at Universidad Javeriana, Colombia. The objective was to construct narratives that promote peace and generate new imaginaries. Interviews with the series director, Mathew Charles, and an animator, along with a review of the creative process, revealed the distinctive elements of this production. The study concentrated on the manner in which participatory animation encourages the formulation of innovative paradigms that challenge the conventional representations of the conflict. The objective was to cultivate empathy and mutual understanding among the participants. The findings emphasise the importance of participatory animation in the reconstruction of peace narratives, offering innovative perspectives in post-conflict contexts. This research demonstrates the significance of artistic intervention, particularly through participatory animation, as a valuable tool for constructing narratives that encourage critical reflection and promote a deeper, empathetic understanding of the experiences of those who have endured war.

Art in the city reduces the feeling of anxiety, stress, and negative mood: A field study examining the impact of artistic intervention in urban public space on well-being

Promoting urban well-being is a significant societal task in the context of rapid urbanization. Past research has highlighted that interaction with urban green spaces, such as parks and forests, is key in promoting urban well-being. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the potential in promoting well-being from non-nature elements. In the present study, we explored whether interacting with art could enhance well-being in urban street contexts. In our field experiment, we built two interventions on urban streets, decorating them with either laminated art prints or green elements. We measured subjective and physiological well-being before and after the interaction with the interventions. With this paradigm, we assessed if, not only green, but also artistic interventions can improve well-being. Our results showed that, after interacting with the artistic intervention in an urban environment, the participants reported reduced feelings of anxiety, stress, and negative mood as they did with the green intervention. Further, our results indicate that improvements in well-being were linked to participants’ evaluations of the testing location (restorativeness), of aesthetic quality of the intervention (e.g., beauty, meaningfulness), and of their overall experience (e.g., enjoyment). These findings have significant implications in promoting urban well-being and city planning, as they highlight the potential of art as a novel tool for enhancing urban well-being.

Expressive Arts Intervention for Older Carers of Adult Family Members with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract Expressive arts-based interventions have proven effective in facilitating discovery, healing, and change across diverse client populations, and particularly in deepening older individuals’ connection with their own creativity, resulting in improvements in physical and mental well-being. In this study, expressive arts-based interventions were utilised in ten groups of Chinese older carers of adult family members with intellectual/developmental disabilities. Focus group interviews were used to investigate the effectiveness. Amongst the forty-seven participants, the majority were mothers between sixty-one and seventy years old. More than half of the care recipients were over the age of thirty. The emergent themes included breakthroughs in self-expression, exploration of existential meaning, and confrontation with impending mortality. Participants had great worries about the future care arrangements, leading to immense feelings of frustration which were suppressed in accordance with prevailing Chinese values. Expressive arts were found effective in facilitating the expression of concealed emotions and expectations. The creative process was therapeutic in reconnecting the participants with forgotten events and relationships to discover positive meanings for change, enlightening them to embrace end-of-life as natural, treasure the present, and re-focus on self. Without a care arrangement solution, they resorted to maintaining health for life extension. Implications for service are included.

Creativity, Practical Ability, Self‐Identity: Public Art Practice with Primary School Students in China

AbstractPublic art is increasingly recognised for its pedagogical value, especially in higher education, where it enhances institutions’ educational outcomes and expands students’ learning experiences. However, its potential in basic education remains under‐exploited. This study aims to bridge the gap by investigating how public art is effectively integrated into school curriculums and the educational benefits it offers students in their learning journey. Researchers, therefore, designed a student‐centred public art intervention project, Dreams and Hopes, at a Chinese nonprofit primary school incorporating the school's educational goals. The project recruited 5th and 6th graders to create a giant mosaic mural for the campus’ public space during the school's club and regular curriculum. To determine the educational benefits of the public art practice, researchers collected qualitative data using ethnographic methods in the project. The results showed that students at different stages (design, making, exhibition) gained competencies in three key themes: creativity (divergence, convergence, expression), practical ability (operation, innovation, collaboration), and self‐identity (satisfaction, achievement, confidence). These competencies align with the school's educational goals and enhance students’ learning experience. Problem‐based guidance, a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere, effective communication and a connection to reality are essential to these critical competencies. The study reveals that public art may support educational goals and benefit students. It also enhances the practical experience of public art in basic education and provides a model of intervention to educators. The study recommends that schools actively collaborate with external resources, emphasise the art practice's educational value, and provide platforms for student arts participation.

A Changing Representation: “Personal Writing” in Artistic Intervention in Chinese Rural Communities

As socially engaged art has played a vibrant role in responding to the crisis of the postmodernist art regime, the current post-Occupy condition has manifested itself in artistic interventions in rural China. In contrast to social writing, which encompasses street art, designers going to the countryside, and industrial empowerment to construct “good cultural governance” or “good cultural taste,” the term personal writing as used here describes a type of avant-garde intervention that has sparked interest in vernacular communities. It provides a socially minded critique of art production as bifurcated from the remaking of everyday social relations and subjectivities, political and cultural possibilities, and the rural Chinese future. Grounded in a contextual analysis of the social turn in Chinese contemporary art and the lingering “rural problem” under post-socialism, this article takes artist Mao Chenyu's Paddy Film project as an example of personal writing and proposes this artist's activisms at Dongting Lake as a specific intervening field, visual ethnography as a method, paddy rice as a distinctive “thing,” and archival practices as a deconstructive pathway that together have promoted the emergence of a resistance narrative in artistic intervention in Chinese rural communities.

Handcrafting in Zero Gravity: Reinventing the Spindle as An Artistic Intervention in Space Research

Handcrafting in Zero Gravity: Reinventing the Spindle as An Artistic Intervention in Space Research

Unveiling deception: An approach of the Shroud of Turin's anatomical anomalies and artistic liberties

AbstractThe authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, also known as the ‘Síndone’ or ‘Holy Shroud’, faces significant doubt based on scientific evidence. Carbon‐14 testing conducted decades ago placed its origin in the Middle Ages, raising questions about its connection to Jesus Christ. This article highlights an anatomical anomaly: the hand placement covering the genitals appears inconsistent with human proportions, suggesting a possible artistic intervention.

‘You come as a human being…’: exploring sense of equality in arts interventions through an ethnographic study of Shared Reading

Research shows that the arts hold a particular potential for promoting health, well-being and social inclusion for vulnerable people. However, the use and consumption of the arts tend to be...

Narrative Therapy Expressive Art Group Interventions for Adolescents with Eating Disorders in Residential Treatment

ABSTRACT Eating disorders continue to impact youth at staggering rates, with 13.2% of adolescents meeting DSM-5 criteria for an eating disorder by age 20. Integrating narrative therapy expressive art interventions with the healing power of group can meet the layered developmental needs of adolescents battling anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or nonspecific eating disorders. This conceptual manuscript pulls from literature on expressive arts, adolescent eating disorders, group counseling, and residential treatment considerations using a narrative therapy theoretical approach. Expressive art interventions appropriate for serving adolescents with eating disorders in a residential treatment setting are provided.

Body, visual arts and healing: a study of the effectiveness of facilitative visual arts interventions with women survivors of intimate partner violence in Kerala

Intimate partner violence (IPV) in a micro-space invites the attention of development practitioners to intervene at the micro-, meso- and macro-level, especially in the case of marginalised women. Here, visual arts therapy is a culturally located instrument used to impact and mobilise individuals in order to construct resilience and deconstruct stress. The article analyses such an intervention and the resultant change in 204 women violated by intimate partner violence. It uses mixed research methods, employing structured interviewing using Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale and focus group discussions. The findings reveal reduced and milder levels of anxiety, stress and depression among the women after participating in the interventions, with emergent themes including ‘fear’, ‘beatings’, ‘motivation’, ‘recovery’ and ‘healing’, and ‘mutual aid’. The implications affirm women-centred social work practice.

ARTISTIC WAVES: HOW EFFECTIVE IS ART AS A MEDIUM FOR CREATING AWARENESS ABOUT OCEAN POLLUTION?

This study delves into the effectiveness of using art as a medium for promoting awareness about ocean pollution. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature and original survey data collected in New Delhi, the research highlights the critical gap in public knowledge regarding artists and artworks focused on addressing ocean pollution. Despite widespread concern about the harmful impacts of ocean pollution, the survey findings reveal a striking lack of awareness among respondents regarding the role of art in conveying this message. This underscores the need to explore and amplify the potential of artistic interventions in environmental advocacy. Furthermore, by examining case studies such as "Bristol Whales" and "Bridge," which employ recycled materials sourced from the ocean to create compelling narratives, the study illuminates the transformative power of art in building emotional connections and deepening the understanding of complex environmental issues, in this case, ocean pollution. In advocating for increased collaboration between artists, scientists, and policymakers, the research underscores the urgency of leveraging art's communicative prowess to inspire collective action and preserve the fragile ecosystems of our oceans. This study serves as a call to action for harnessing art as a tool for environmental awareness and advocacy in the ongoing fight against ocean pollution.

Exploring short-term therapeutic Effects of Art Intervention on Emotional Expression: A Study on Grade 9 and 10 Students in Conflict-Affected Areas of Myanmar

Exploring short-term therapeutic Effects of Art Intervention on Emotional Expression: A Study on Grade 9 and 10 Students in Conflict-Affected Areas of Myanmar

Claiming the wall: How memorial plaques reshape urban landscapes in Russia

This article explores the significance of memorial plaques in Russian cities as sites of history, memory and aesthetics that create a new sensorium of the urban sphere. The plaques, affixed to historic buildings, serve as tangible markers that commemorate significant events and figures from the past. Taking the case of the historic center of St. Petersburg, the article examines how these plaques create a sense of historicity and contribute to the formation of a shared cultural background within the urban sphere. The plaques evolve from simple inscriptions to more elaborate and visually appealing designs. It also highlights the controversies surrounding the selection of individuals to be materialized and remembered and the aesthetic concerns raised by some residents. Meanwhile, the two contemporary projects challenge traditional commemorative practices and their aesthetics: Last Address, which commemorates victims of political repression through individualized plaques, and the Gandhi artist group’s street art interventions. These projects offer alternative approaches to memorialization and engage in dialogue with existing monuments and plaques. These micro-interventions show grassroot resistance within memorializing practices and aesthetics. The article emphasizes the contested nature of public space and the role of memorial plaques in shaping collective memory and historical narratives in Russian cities.

Feasibility, acceptability, and perceived benefits of a creative arts intervention for elementary school children living with speech, language and communication disorders

BackgroundChildren with speech, language, and communication disorders require specialized support in response to their emotional expression challenges. Not only is such support key for their development, but it is also essential for their mental well-being. Art making emerges as a valuable tool for enabling these children to convey emotions both verbally and non-verbally, fostering a positive self-concept. School-based arts interventions have the potential to improve self-concept and emotional expression, and more generally, the quality of life. However, there is limited empirical evidence regarding the feasibility, acceptability, and perceived effectiveness of a manualized, school-based creative arts intervention for this specific group.AimThis study aimed to develop and evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and perceived benefits of an art-based intervention for elementary school students with speech, language, and communication disorders, using qualitative methods to obtain diverse perspectives.ResultsThe findings indicate that the intervention was feasible and well received, as reported by teachers, students, and facilitators. Participants also discussed potential positive outcomes, including emotional expression, emotional growth, and fulfilment of autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs. Students found the workshops conducive to sharing emotions and took pride in the creative process. Teachers gained deeper insights into their students, fostering positive classroom relationships. Observational data triangulated these findings.ConclusionThis innovative project suggests that art-based interventions can potentially benefit students’ emotional expression, but further experimental studies are needed to substantiate these effects.

Group arts therapies for patients with schizophrenia: a protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis

IntroductionSchizophrenia, a chronic mental problem, significantly impacts cognition, emotion and social functioning. Conventional pharmacotherapy faces challenges including numerous side effects, low adherence to medication and substantial costs. In this context,...