Making art while the world burns
It isn't always easy, but it is important - for ourselves, each other, and the world itself
Hey friends,
How are you doing? I hope that amidst all these… “interesting times”* we're living in, you’re doing things for your heart and your art - whatever that may look like for you.
*“May you live in interesting times” is still my favourite curse.
To me, this means actively making an effort to do things that fill my cup; things that remind me of the fact that we’re made of stardust and are lucky enough to be here, living on the only planet in the universe that has life - that we know of. Things that remind me that we all have the capacity for love, creativity, curiosity, complex thought, and free will.
That, in itself, feels kind of incredible. Even if other elements of said life feel a bit like a dumpster fire at the moment.
After writing last week about the owning our stories and our voices, I thought this week I'd go deeper into why art, stories, and our individual and collective voices and creativity are important - both for us as individuals, and for humanity.
To start, it feels like it's worth touching on how art and creativity help to give our lives meaning, a sense of belonging, and joy. Especially amidst times of uncertainty and chaos.
While I was trying to come up with examples, I couldn’t get the “image” (hello, aphantasia!), of how the band carried on playing on the deck of the Titanic while the ship went down out of my head. Every single member of that band sacrificed their life to give comfort to others in the most wretched situation, and, honestly it just feels like the ultimate sacrifice for humanity - and for art.
That said, on a happier note, there are many other reasons to prioritise art, too, including studies that show telling stories to kids in hospital increases positive emotions and decreases stress and pain. I feel like this absolutely counts for adults, too. I’m 35 and I love hearing other people’s stories.
I know I’m not alone. For as long as we’ve had humans, we’ve had stories and we’ve had art, and for many millennia, the two have come hand in hand. Stories have kept us company and helped us make sense of the world since time immemorial. Like art, they can help us find a deeper sense of belonging, and meaning - which feels even more necessary by the day.
To me, art is a deep and loving connection between us and the world that exists beyond meeting our bare minimum needs to exist as humans - but is almost just as essential for our wellbeing.
Art helps us make sense of the world + our place in it
Art helps us feel a sense of belonging - connecting us to our own cultural and social history - while also allowing us to step outside of our lived experience, too. All of which can help us be far better, more compassionate, and understanding humans.
Art also helps us pass down stories of the past, with the hope that we’ll learn from them and won’t make the same mistakes again.
It can be our way of cementing our own legacies; like 60,000-year-old rock art here in Australia or the handprints in the Lascaux Caves - believed to be the world's first cinema. Or help us feel like we belong; like decorating our own homes.
When shit hits the fan and life gets hard, consuming art is one of the few things that can help. It can give us comfort, hope, and remind us we're not alone.
If other people weren’t making art, we’d have nothing to consume; no books, no magazines, no music, no TV shows or movies, no photography, no pottery, no galleries to visit, no murals or sculptures to brighten up our streets. The world would be a lot duller for it.
I find it incredible to think that every single song, movie, TV show, book we love, etc, all started life as just the tiniest spark of an idea in someone’s mind.
If they’d let themselves think that it didn’t matter because the world was burning, the world - and we - would be far worse off for it.
Chances are the artists would be, too.
Art is a political tool for regimes, revolutions + resistance
On a larger scale, art has also long been a powerful force in shaping our societies.
Throughout history, it has been used not just as a way to express and understand the world, but also as a tool to influence it - whether by those in power or those resisting it.
Before China’s Cultural Revolution, Mao utilised art as a way to connect with rural citizens, many of whom were illiterate and had never before seen their likeness depicted in art. It was transformative.
In Russia, it was similar, "I’m no good at art," Lenin famously said. "Art for me is a just an appendage, and when its use as propaganda – which we need at the moment – is over, we’ll cut it out as useless: snip, snip!"
Along the same veins, the UK’s now-iconic “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster was designed to raise the morale of the British public during WWII. It was originally part of a series of three posters, including: “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory" and "Freedom Is in Peril / Defend It With All Your Might".
On the other hand, art has long been a part of the revolution, like the Black Arts Movement in the US in the 60s and 70s which influenced hip-hop and graffiti culture. Or how, in South Korea, activists still send balloons with USB sticks loaded with K-Pop and K-dramas across the border to their North Korean counterparts. Or in Japan, how manga, anime, and even computer games evolved a lot as a result of the intense censorship after WWII.
Politics and art go hand-in-hand. They always have - just like politics and life.
As much as some people wish we could, we can’t separate life and our experience of the world from politics. Everything we do, see, think, and feel has been shaped by systems of power. It’s the same for art.
Whether we intend it to or not, our art challenges norms, questions power, and gives voice to perspectives that might otherwise go unheard. It's a statement; a reflection of the world as it is, was, or could be.
By choosing what to focus our art on, we get to say what’s important to us - whether it’s birds, landscapes, film photography, supporting other creatives with their businesses, cooking from-scratch meals with seasonal ingredients, or making/mending our own clothes, Morris dancing, or literally anything else that might come under the umbrella of art or creativity.
Art as rest, replenishment + resistance.
As we covered above, art - and creativity - is resistance.
However, it's also nourishment, replenishment, one of the seven main types of rest, and to be frank, a necessity for wellbeing and enjoyment and preservation of life.
Because, no matter what else is going in the world, art and those tiny glimmers of joy that come from connecting in with our creativity and seeing the world in a creative way, can be reasons to keep going.
Often, you'll find that when we view the world as artists, we want to protect it, more, too.
We'll start to notice the way the light falls on the trees or the way the birds singing on a frosty morning leaves a trail of air, just like we do when we breathe. We’ll take more time to watch sunrises and sunsets, and to watch the waves of the ocean ebbing and flowing.
We'll notice how a scene in a show steals our hearts, or a line in a song or a book or even a Substack post captivate our attention.
We'll train ourselves to notice more; to be more present and appreciative of what we do have. To love the world around us - the one with seasons that spin separately from news cycles.
The benefits of creating art
When we create art, we're not just consuming, we're transforming. We're working with the same energy that tells plants when to grow and flowers to bloom.
We're tapping into the same energy that our ancestors used to tell stories to their children to help them sleep at night, or to pass down information and lore that would help ensure their survival.
Creating art is an interaction between us and the world. A way for us to become an active participant in our own lives and how we experience the world, rather than a passive one; an oopportunity to create our own sense of belonging.
When we create art and tell our stories, we're helping ourselves feel connected to something bigger. We're reminding ourselves that we - like everyone else - belong here. That we're worthy.
That we're allowed to make art and take up space and be seen by the world. That we're allowed to matter. That all of this and everyone else matters, too.
Creating art can also help us unravel and externalise our feelings and experiences, find hope, and process and work through hardships and struggles. Frida Kahlo is a prime example of this.
Martha Beck says creativity is the off switch to anxiety; that when you're in active creation mode, you can't be actively anxious. She invites us to use kind self talk and curiosity as a way to tap into our creativity.
I approach my creativity in the same way; by letting myself get curious and using that as a zipline straight into creative flow.
My story
I also just wanted to end with my own regrets about how, when the shit massively hit the fan in my life a few years ago, I let my art and creativity fall by the wayside.
Actually, I didn't just let it fall by the wayside, I actively abused it, focusing solely on how I could make it work for me financially, rather than as a source of enjoyment, rest, or replenishment.
All the things that I used to do for fun - writing, photography, and travel - became outlets for income. I didn't want to spend my time and energy writing for fun when I could be paid for it. My trips were all work trips, photos could be sold alongside articles, or for the travel blog I might one day write.
I was so tired from trying to call my mum and hold my family together from the other side of the world, while rebuilding my travel writing career, and juggling visa stress and health and housing issues, that I had no energy left to enjoy other things, like walking or cooking. I became increasingly depressed, stressed, and just felt like I was dragging myself through life.
In the end, I crashed and burned out, hard.
Re-embracing art and rediscovering my creativity was one of the main things that helped me find my way back to myself. It helped me tap back into my curiosity and playfulness, rediscover my love for beauty - especially Japanese aesthetics - and rekindle my love for the world and society.
For me, now, making art isn’t silly or frivolous, it’s one of my main sources of joy and pleasure, and makes me incredibly happy.
Reflection questions
1. What creative practice - big or small - helps you feel most connected to yourself and/or the world?
2. Has making or consuming art, storytelling, or creativity helped you through difficult times in your life? In what way?
3. Do you feel guilty or conflicted about creating when the world feels chaotic? What do you do instead? Or do you feel okay about creating but not sharing?
4. Do you want to create more or make more time for art, play, or sharing your stories? If so, what's one thing you can do to prioritise your creativity this week?
An invitation
If you want to dive deeper into what this might look like for you, I invite you to join my creative circle call next week. This call is dedicated to owning and sharing our stories, our voices, and our art, and there will be plenty of time for questions, too, if you have any.
It will take place on Wednesday 5th March at 8.30am GMT, 4.30pm AWST, and 7.30pm AEDT, and is free to all subscribers. RSVP here.
Maybe see you there? Or here, next week, if that works better for you.
Sending you all my love,
Cx
PS: If you enjoy my work or my words and want to dive in deeper you can:
Join me for a 1:1 creative mentoring call where we can talk about all of this and more.
Come to my free monthly creative circles. The next one is on March 5th.
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Beautiful reflection. I have definitely felt guilty creating when the world feels chaotic. Some very wise friends reminded me that happiness is not like taking a slice from a limited pie. My happiness does not detract from that of others; a rising tide lifts all ships. When I put my best self out into the world, I am better poised to aid, to encourage and to have positive impact. Creating is an act of love. And we need as much of that as possible.
Thank you so much for *this* beautiful reflection! I love the idea of the unlimited happiness pie. You're so right, creating is an act of love and service, for ourselves, the world, and each other.
I found it really interesting reading about the "forgotten" British WWII poster that said "Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution, Will Bring Us Victory". For various reasons, it feels more acceptable these days to be angry than happy. But to be angry uses a lot more fire and energy than being happy or content or cheerful, and then we just have a bunch of tired, frustrated, sad people with nothing left to give. Creating and art is generative; it's gives as much as it takes. In many ways, it feels even more necessary than ever.
I have so much to say on these topics, haha. I think I'll have to come back to them in the future. Thank you again for sparking even more ideas 🥰💜