Apr 15, 2021
Developing Intercultural Competencies through the Arts
By Joseph Golden
When I was ten years old, my father took me to New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, transporting me to another world of exploration and forging a deep, life-long connection between me and the visual arts. From a young age, the arts played an essential role in my self-discovery, my journey toward openness. It was through the arts that I began to discover my identity, my gender, my different capabilities, and my emotions. That day, at the museum, I recall coming across a colorful, oversized painting of a beautiful, nude woman, bedazzled in pearls, entwined in the arms of a stunningly virile, dark, bearded man. I stood in awe, transfixed by the painting’s magnificence, but my dad, clearly embarrassed, pushed me along, telling me that some artworks were unsuitable for viewing. Art, I discovered that day, isn’t always beautiful to everyone and often causes vastly different reactions. My experience taught me that art could be contentious, controversial, and even offensive. In Veronese’s masterpiece, Mars and Venus United by Love (1570s), the goddess’ voluptuous body, pale skin, and strawberry blonde hair, I would later learn, embody Renaissance art’s ideals of beauty, perfection, and harmony. But my museum experience taught me how, even in idealized interpretations, the body could trigger passionate discourses about sin, sexuality, and cultural identity.
I was born in 1961, in an affluent, all-white suburban town about twenty-five miles outside of New York City, where the only People of Color I ever saw were my friends’ maids and housekeepers, and we were taught not to engage with the help. It wasn’t until I began art school, at New York City’s Parsons School of Design, in 1979 that I began taking classes with people from all over the world, from different cultures and identities. On the first day of the course, we were asked to draw a self-portrait without a mirror’s aid. Someone from a South American country depicted himself in the form of a primitive mask, and, at the time, I did not understand the professor’s praise for the student’s innovative approach to the assignment. To me, it looked like a rudimentary child’s drawing, but still, I remember the image vividly over 40 years later. Although I did not understand the portrait, I became aware of it. As an art student, I became challenged by my notions of beauty and what makes good art, while, at the same time, my life drawing class taught me to value and copy the Classical/Renaissance type of body that is considered desirable: wholesome, youthful, healthy, able-bodied, and light-skinned.[1]
Education has long been presented as one of the main paths to national and human development (Eccles & Roeser, 2011).[2] Yet, education is almost exclusively defined as formal schooling, neglecting alternative spaces in which many people learn. It wasn’t until I backpacked through the Yucatan peninsula at age 21 in Mexico that my perspective of the world changed in dramatic ways. Culture shock is a disorientating experience of suddenly finding that others do not share your views, behaviors, or life experiences. It leaves one feeling powerless in coping with the new environment. From a young age, we all develop biased perceptions and generalizations about people from certain countries. Self-reflection often comes with connections with local cultures and people with diverse backgrounds and individual beliefs, from opening your mind to the rich cultures in the world to an appreciation for the world we live in. I explored the ruins of Tulum, Chichén Itzá, Cobá, and Uxmal, became intrigued with Mayan art and history and Mexican art and culture, and the production of handcrafted objects, returning to Mexico numerous times in my youth.
The arts exist in all cultures today, deeply interconnecting music, dance, rituals that celebrate life (milestones, death, and religion), and language (poetry, song, and storytelling).[3] The creation of depictive art is one of the most complex and elusive human activities and a form of expression which is almost as old as the modern human, far predating evidence of written communication. Art is the visceral description of a culture’s views, beliefs, and traditions, revealing the people’s spirit through their drawings, paintings, carvings, body adornment, and folklore. Although art can also differ considerably among cultures, it can also be a vehicle that bridges the gap between cultures, indicating society’s fundamental values and expressions of power and status. Art reflects artists and their environment, the political, social, and commercial circumstances, and cultural norms. Through art, music, and the performing arts, we understand the historical, political, cultural connections between world regions and peoples, exploring the landscape of cultural diversities, as well as conflicts and challenges. The arts can sway public policy and private actions in the best interests of international understanding, acceptance, and empathy.
When I first learned about AIDS, I was a photography major at Parsons and facing personal circumstances: a painful coming out as a young gay man, alienation from my family, homelessness, and drug use. AIDS became the subtext of my photography when the topic was new, uneasy, and controversial. Fear of social stigma made me uncomfortable talking about AIDS in the classroom; it came out in my work. When I was diagnosed with HIV, the news led to anxiety and depression, and I dropped out of school. However, coping with the AIDS crisis produced some of my most meaningful work. As an artist, I believe that creative expression has played a significant part in helping me survive through many of the most challenging phases of my life. Artmaking was and remained an essential part of my ability to cope and express my dreams, fears, and anxieties. Through artistic accounts such as poetry, plays, novels, short stories, and films, many people living with HIV/AIDS (PLAs) developed a deeper understanding of their emotions and the spiritual dimensions associated with it.[4] Artists also raised awareness of the disease and helped to promote social justice through exhibitions of their work.
In 2016, I began serving in the Wellness program at The Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC). The New York-based agency provides food security through a pantry, a hot meals program, counseling, and testing for HIV and sexually transmitted illnesses, advocacy for public safety, coordinated care, legal services, and supportive housing services. Clients are also offered a chance to improve and sustain their well-being through various therapies and classes that include painting and drawing, knitting, creative writing, yoga, and meditation. Before working at GMHC, I had only looked at HIV/AIDS through my experience and those within my social circles, ignoring HIV/AIDS’s unequal impact on communities already struggling with many social and economic challenges. I never really considered HIV/AIDS’s impact on varied communities, cultures, and identities, especially transgender and gender non-conforming people, people of color, and undocumented immigrants; Those who live with unique challenges — isolation, mental health issues, depression, housing, food insecurity, and substance abuse. I learned how those ostracized by class, race, or immigrant status are often survivors of abuse, homelessness, drug addiction, and mental illness. They are usually kept out of conversations about the HIV/AIDSs experience.
The agency’s art program offers a safe space for the clients in an accepting and judgment-free setting. Participation can draw our clients out of physical and social isolation into a collective experience. As an art instructor, my goal is for all participants to understand themselves and their capabilities better. “In large measure, becoming an artist consists of learning to accept yourself, which makes your work personal, and in following your voice, which makes your work distinctive.” (Bayles & Orland, 1993, p. 3).[5] I urge my clients to employ the arts to say what cannot directly be said, to use their imagination to express joy, sorrow, hope, fear, anger, and curiosity. As Dirkx (2001) [6] asserts, art and craft-making are specific methods that can be used to help learners locate and construct deep meaning and value in their own life experiences. While the arts can help expand our capacity for positive emotions, it can also help us process the negative by reminding us “of the legitimate place of sorrow in a good life” (de Botton, p. 9).[7]
Our classes are mixed with people from all backgrounds and abilities. We share experience, art, ideas, and cultural values that alleviate the fears associated with the artmaking process. I try to convince my clients that art is created from the heart. As artists, we are, at times, afraid to allow our true selves to shine through. We let society define who we are and what we do. In my experience teaching art, I have noticed a valuable feature of studio discussions is storytelling. Students seem comfortable engaging in telling stories to reflect their life experiences, culture, and values more than making art. Beyond the personal meaning, they are significant expressions of the community and cultural narrative. We each have accounts that relate to the essence of who we are, where we come from, and where we are journeying.
Craft making, in our community setting, is another method to overcome isolation. The crocheting and knitting class form tight bonds while sharing their stories and building close relationships. The production of handcrafted objects can provide a safe space. It can also serve as a therapy group, providing a setting for members to share their life stories, especially their sorrows and struggles.[8] They discover that they are not alone and that their circumstances are understandable and help reduce stigma and shame. Art therapists and other mental health practitioners are increasingly using sewing as a medium, particularly in places where it is culturally relevant, to help face their fears.[9] Support groups provide space for conversations around abuse and trauma,[10] enhancing mindfulness and the ability to think and act independently. Through artistic expression, personal, unique experiences or ways of being can be visible; these narratives can be “therapeutic and empowering” for individual ‘tellers.’[11]
Studying for my master’s degree in adult learning at Empire State College while also serving at GMHC has transformed my role as an artist. Instead of an artistic profession that enhances individual creativity opportunities, I see art as a vehicle for social engagement in my community to strengthen prevailing social inequalities of gender, social status, race, and sexuality. I think about the community at GMHC, and I ask myself: How can the arts promote social justice? I consider the therapeutic powers of art and creativity within the community and how, in a crisis, compassion can triumph over discrimination and fear and that, even in the face of seemingly impossible odds, individuals who stand together can make a difference.
2020 provided us examples of creativity during a political and personal crisis, illustrating how the arts can serve as a voice for all those struggling to be heard. Following George Floyd’s death on May 25, an unarmed black man who implored that he couldn’t breathe while a police officer held him down, thousands of protesters took to the streets in demand of justice and police accountability. Social media became flooded with images and videos of more police brutality, and artists reflected on Black lives’ political uprising. The movement’s collective pain has become a fountain of catharsis, as artists shared their experiences with racial violence and its impact on their lives. Walls covered in graffiti and street art offer a synopsis of the movement. Many artists and writers seek to visualize or write about traumatic events and contribute to community memorials. What’s more, art can support a secondary witnessing, an empathic sense of a muted trauma for an entire community. For other artists and me, digital connections, such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, have proven vital in accessing the community during this time, providing emotional and expressive outlets for artists otherwise separated from fellow creators and collaborators.
Similarly, the fight against AIDS was not merely about raising awareness — it brought folks together by sharing personal experiences and recognizing the previously hidden events. These crises show us how music, art, and poetry can be created to correspond to real traumatization or a combination of unique experiences. Trauma that individuals experience is not happening in a vacuum but in a particular socio-political and socio-psychological context. Without a deep understanding of their trauma’s underlying specific context, pathologizing the victims’ traumatization undermines their resilience.[12] A lifetime of suffering can come from many forms: from living in an abusive environment or existing in a culture where being, for example, Black, LGBTQ+, or female is life-threatening (Kellermann, 2007).[13] Culture often uses “black-white thinking,” scape-goating, and stereotypes to legitimize their behavior, usually forming a breeding ground for conspiracy theories among the broader population, adding “collective angst” and other negative emotions.[14]There is often a history of the silencing of shame, guilt, and blame on the side of one’s identity group.
bell hooks (2000) declares, “To be loving, we willingly hear each other’s truth and, most important, we affirm the value of truth-telling.”[15] People from all traditions and identities can inspire others with their stories of stigma, adversity, and endurance. Like all works of art, no two stories are the same. However, through artistic expression, we can still reframe some of the negative and stigmatizing attitudes and present oppressed people from all cultures and backgrounds as strong, diverse, and thriving.
[1] Gill, R. (2005). “Body projects and the regulation of normative masculinity.” Body & Society,11(1) 37–62.
[2] Eccles, J. S., & Roeser, R. W. (2011). School and community influences on human development. In M. H. Bornstein & M. E. Lamb (Eds.), Developmental science: An advanced textbook (p. 571–643). Psychology Press.
[3] Morriss‐Kay, G. M. (2010). The evolution of human artistic creativity. Journal of Anatomy, 216(2), 158–176.
[4] Boyd, R. D. (1991). Personal Transformation in Small Groups. London, Routledge.
[5] Bayles, D., & Orland, T. (1993). Art & fear: Observations on the perils (and rewards) of artmaking. Image Continuum Press.
[6] Dirkx, J.M. (2001) Images, Transformative Learning, and the Work of Soul. Adult Learning 12(3):15–16. doi:10.1177/104515950101200306
[7] De Botton, A., & Armstrong, J. (2013). Art as therapy. Phaidon Press.
[8] Stuckey, H. L., & Nobel, J. (2010). The connection between art, healing, and public health: a review of current literature. American Journal of Public Health, 100(2), 254–263. DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2008.156497
[9] Garlock, L. R. (2016). Stories in the cloth: Art therapy and narrative textiles. Art Therapy, 33(2), 58–66.
[10] Jones, J., & Ramdeholl, D. (2014, June). Weaving quilts: Remaking and reimagining women’s spaces and places in adult literacy. In Proceedings of the Adult Education Research Conference (AERC), Harrisburg, PA.
[11] Frank, A.W. (1995). The wounded storyteller: body, illness, and ethics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[12] Hamburger A. (2021) The Complexity of Social Trauma Diagnosis and Intervention. In: Hamburger A., Hancheva C., Volkan V.D. (eds) Social Trauma — An Interdisciplinary Textbook. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47817-9_6
[13] Kellermann, P. F. (2007). Sociodrama and collective trauma. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[14] Reimann, C., & König, U. (2017). Collective Trauma and Resilience. Key Concepts in Transforming War-related Identities. Comment on: Transforming War-related Identities. Berghof Handbook Dialogue Series №11, edited by Beatrix Austin and Martina Fischer. Berlin: Berghof Foundation 2016.
[15] hooks, b (2000). All About Love. New Visions. New York: William Morrow.
References
Bayles, D., & Orland, T. (1993). Art & fear: Observations on the perils (and rewards) of artmaking. Image Continuum Press.
Boyd, R. D. (1991). Personal Transformation in Small Groups. London, Routledge.
Clarence J. (1957) The Camera’s Methods of Approaching Reality, College Art Journal, 16:4, 297–306, DOI: 10.1080/15436322.1957.10795823
De Botton, A., & Armstrong, J. (2013). Art as therapy. Phaidon Press.
Dirkx, J.M. (2001) Images, Transformative Learning, and the Work of Soul. Adult Learning 12(3):15–16. doi:10.1177/104515950101200306
Eccles, J. S., & Roeser, R. W. (2011). School and community influences on human development. In M. H. Bornstein & M. E. Lamb (Eds.), Developmental science: An advanced textbook (p. 571–643). Psychology Press.
Frank, A.W. (1995). The wounded storyteller: body, illness, and ethics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Garlock, L. R. (2016). Stories in the cloth: Art therapy and narrative textiles. Art Therapy, 33(2), 58–66.
Gill, R. (2005). “Body projects and the regulation of normative masculinity.” Body & Society,11(1) 37–62.
Hamburger A. (2021) The Complexity of Social Trauma Diagnosis and Intervention. In: Hamburger A., Hancheva C., Volkan V.D. (eds) Social Trauma — An Interdisciplinary Textbook. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47817-9_6
Hetland L., Winner E., Veenema S., Sheridan K. (2007). Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education. New York: Teachers College Press.
hooks, b (2000). All About Love. New Visions. New York: William Morrow.
Jones, J., & Ramdeholl, D. (2014, June). Weaving quilts: Remaking and reimagining women’s spaces and places in adult literacy. In Proceedings of the Adult Education Research Conference (AERC), Harrisburg, PA.
Kellermann, P. F. (2007). Sociodrama and collective trauma. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Morriss‐Kay, G. M. (2010). The evolution of human artistic creativity. Journal of Anatomy, 216(2), 158–176.
Reimann, C., & König, U. (2017). Collective Trauma and Resilience. Key Concepts in Transforming War-related Identities. Comment on: Transforming War-related Identities. Berghof Handbook Dialogue Series №11, edited by Beatrix Austin and Martina Fischer. Berlin: Berghof Foundation 2016.
Strong, R. (1984). Art and power: Renaissance festivals, 1450–1650. Univ of California Press.
Stuckey, H. L., & Nobel, J. (2010). The connection between art, healing, and public health: a review of current literature. American Journal of Public Health, 100(2), 254–263. DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2008.156497
About the Author
Joseph Golden, M.A., aims to address the social determinants of health that continue to fuel HIV infection rates and prevent people from accessing care and treatment. His research focuses on how artistic expression offers healing and resilience for the individual when addressing trauma, how schools and community organizations can provide structure, support, and coping mechanisms when individuals are experiencing trauma, disease, and disability, and how sharing stories as long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS can lead to an empathetic understanding of all illness experiences. Contact: joegolden7500@gmail.com
