Art (Therapy) is Activism
Art therapy has played a significant but often understated role in healing and activism during different human rights movements. By helping individuals and communities process trauma, reclaim narratives, and envision change, art therapy has become an important tool in movements addressing racial and gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, refugee crises, and Indigenous rights.
Civil Rights Movement for Racial Equality
Amid the struggle for racial equality and justice in the 1950s and 1960s, therapeutic arts emerged as a way to process collective trauma for Black Americans. The intersection of art and activism allowed individuals to express the psychological toll of racial oppression and the civil rights struggle in deeply personal and communal ways.
Though not formally institutionalized during this time, community-based art initiatives acted as early therapeutic interventions. In churches and community centers, art became a form of resistance and collective healing. Black artists like Charles White and Romare Bearden depicted the violence and injustices of the era, humanizing their experiences while communicating their narratives to a broader audience. Mural-making and exhibitions celebrated Black identity and resilience, offering both healing and activism.
Gender Equality and Women’s Rights
Art therapy has been integral in addressing gender-based violence and empowering women in movements for gender equality. For instance, during the global push for women's rights in the 1970s and beyond, survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault used art therapy to process trauma. Shelters and support groups incorporated art therapy to help survivors externalize their pain, visualize empowerment, and rebuild self-esteem. Initiatives like The Clothesline Project, where survivors of violence create T-shirts that tell their stories, demonstrate how art-making fosters personal and collective healing while raising awareness about systemic issues.
LGBTQ+ Rights Movement
Art therapy has supported individuals in the LGBTQ+ community as they navigate discrimination, stigma, and the complexities of coming out. During the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, artmaking was used as a means of processing grief, loss, and fear among those living with HIV/AIDS and their loved ones. Organizations like the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt allowed communities to memorialize those lost to the epidemic through collaborative art-making, offering both a personal outlet for grief and a public statement demanding attention to the crisis. Today, art therapy continues to serve LGBTQ+ youth and adults, providing safe spaces to explore identity and address the impact of homophobia, transphobia, and intersectional discrimination.
Refugee and Immigrant Rights
In the context of refugee crises, art therapy has been used in camps and resettlement programs to help individuals, especially children, process the trauma of displacement, war, and loss. Organizations like Art Refuge and The International Rescue Committee have integrated art therapy into their humanitarian efforts, using it to support refugees fleeing conflict zones like Syria, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. Art therapy provides a non-verbal means for displaced individuals to process traumatic memories, express hope, and regain a sense of agency amidst uncertainty.
Anti-Apartheid Movement
During South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, art therapy served as a way to address the psychological toll of systemic racism and state violence. Art therapy programs emerged in the 1980s to support individuals traumatized by apartheid’s brutality. Community art projects, including murals and collaborative works, not only documented oppression but also fostered hope for a post-apartheid future.
Disability Rights Movement
The disability rights movement has also embraced art therapy as a way to challenge ableism and promote self-advocacy. In the 1970s and 1980s, art therapy programs were integrated into advocacy initiatives, helping individuals with disabilities express their experiences and demand equal rights. Art-making became a way to visualize inclusion and accessibility, while also offering therapeutic support to navigate societal stigma.
Indigenous Rights Movements
Art therapy has supported Indigenous communities in reclaiming cultural identity and healing from historical trauma. The impact of colonization, forced assimilation, and systemic oppression has left intergenerational scars, but art therapy offers a way to address these wounds. Indigenous art therapy practices often incorporate traditional artistic methods, like beadwork, weaving, and painting, as a way to reconnect with heritage. In movements for land rights and recognition, art therapy has also been used to document collective struggles and honor resilience. For example, the Idle No More movement in Canada has used art and storytelling as forms of cultural preservation and activism.
Movements Against Police Brutality and State Violence
In recent years, art therapy’s role in movements like Black Lives Matter (BLM) has become more formalized. BLM and other social justice movements use art to process collective grief in the wake of racial violence and systemic racism. Protest art—through murals, digital art, and community installations—offers not only powerful messages but also a space for healing. For instance, during the George Floyd protests in 2020, murals honoring victims of police brutality became communal projects that helped channel grief and anger into cathartic, visual expressions.
Beyond Black Lives Matter, art therapy has played a role in other movements addressing police brutality and state violence. For instance, in Latin America, movements like the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina used art to mourn and resist the forced disappearances of their children during the Dirty War. Artistic expression became a means to process grief and demand justice, with quilts, banners, and other visual representations symbolizing their collective resilience.
Summary
Art therapy’s role in human rights movements lies in its capacity to transform pain into power, amplify marginalized voices, and foster both personal and collective healing. Whether addressing systemic oppression, personal trauma, or cultural erasure, art therapy bridges the gap between individual recovery and social transformation, offering a creative path toward justice and resilience.