The Good Table At Home: Art as Resilience

by Kelly Knight, Marketing Manager for The Good Table

In Our Community

It goes without saying that 2020 has completely changed our way of life, and mostly not in good ways. Sure, it was novel to bake our quarantine sourdough at first, but as the months dragged on, the lack of social connection and being in community has really worn on all of us. (It’s also given us insight into and compassion for the everyday life protocols of our immunocompromised community members — but that’s a different article).

Social isolation, the anxiety about our loved ones potentially getting sick, grief for those we’ve lost and the gigantic scale of the pandemic, anger at the current administration for their failure to act… it all adds up. What do we do about it? How can we keep ourselves mentally healthy during a time with so few resources?

Resilience, as defined by Merriam Webster, is the ability to recover quickly from stress. “It's the notion of springing back into shape after being knocked down. In today's world of economic and political turmoil, being able to withstand the related shocks and stresses - for both individuals and societies-at-large - is more important than ever,” says the Salzburg Global Seminar, an independent non-profit organization that inspires current and future leaders to shape a better world.

So how do we cultivate resilience?

Certainly, therapy, meditation, yoga and other mental health resources can help us find some equilibrium, if we have access to them. But something that occurred to me this week was that art and creativity may offer us even more.

I was driving around the block, my small children in their carseats in the backseat. In order to stop the baby from crying, I was driving around downtown Oakland, stopping as little as possible. As I drove the improvised circles, I noticed that the plywood covering storefronts and businesses had been overlaid with street art. Intensely colorful murals and impactful statements lined the streets.

The next day, I went back on foot to document some of it. It seemed important to witness, to document this cultural moment. As I took pictures, I thought about the motivation to create art: outrage, joy, inspiration, boredom. Art is a channel for these emotions, a place to contain and express them.

Street art, in particular, is a chance to be in community -- it’s a conversation with the viewer and with the other pieces surrounding it. The art I saw decried police killings, stood up for black lives, and rejoiced in the community and the diversity of Oakland. It’s important to witness these voices, understand their truths.

Artist: Unknown (Please get in touch — we’d love to give the artist credit!)

Art can be an outlet for anger at injustice, a voice for the unheard, a signal to rally, a comfort to those who feel alone. In our contentious and difficult times, it can be a way to release stress, to make something creative, generative. It can be solace, comfort. It is the ultimate container for anything we feel.

Do you have an art practice? What does it look like? Does art help you cope with the uncertainty we face? What other ways can you find resilience?

As we go into 2021, art and community will matter more and more. I urge you to observe the art around you, and generate your own practice, whatever it looks like for you. The world needs more art.

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For more on the street art taking place in Oakland and San Francisco, check out these news articles and organizations:

Open-Air Art Museum
How Oakland Community Organizers Are Preserving Street Art
Painting the Void