Art and an inclusive society

As humans we are blessed with a mind that’s capable of imagining things that are beyond comprehension. From a little kid scribbling a scenery on paper to the floating Voyager satellites drifting away in the vast expanse of space, every little achievement we’ve seen, has involved imagination. While a lot of these inventions have been for the collective wellbeing and advancement of the society, it is important to understand that creative thinking can be a tool for personal enhancement too.

In a world with steadily increasing diversity, it is quite easy for a person to constantly feel lost and excluded and for the differently-abled ones, the picture is slightly different to be modest. For them, it is important to lean on to artistic forms of expression to tell the world, that their creative abilities are just as fine as the rest of the ‘regular’ folk. It is important because, these forms of expressions often help us understand things that cannot be verbally expressed. Apart from being attractive and comfortingit often forms a bridge between the self and the world. No particular person or group holds exclusive rights to art and precisely for that reason, and its universal appeal, it is one of the most sought-after ways to create awareness.

Talk to anyone who is into any kind of visual expression and you’ll understand that they use that as one of the primary sources to remain healthy and connected. What is it that art has that helps one break the chains of self-doubt and irrational thinking? Can art be the key to society, its ways and its attention? Well, it turns out that these creative escapades do help the brain strengthen its connections by enhancing cognitive reserve, resilience and better its memory capacity. Like mentioned before, art also aids better communication between two people, which alleviates emotional state of a person as well. For differently-abled people, just like anyone else, art can not only tweak their creativity but also is a meditative exercise, in the sense that it calms the mind, reduces negative, irrational thoughts and keepsanxiety, aversion and various degrees of depression away.

To really puzzle out the link between art and inclusion, we will have to understand our brain a little bit. This power house is responsible for every action we take, be it mental or physical. One specific part of it, the pre-frontal cortex (PFC), sitting right above your eyes and hidden safely behind your forehead, is the one responsible for efficient functioning.As the seat of rationality and an executive portion of the brain, it is responsible for logic, reasoning and willpower, creativity, decision-making and goal-setting. Art helps us tap into its wonders and benefit out of it.When we try out new tasks or try perfecting hobbies, our PFC steps into intense focus which helps the brain curtain, and over a period of time erase, unnecessary thoughts and keeps most distractions away. Spend a few hours doing this and you’ll certainly know that your overall emotional state is at a better place. Doing creative exercises every day, for both abled and differently-abled people alike, helps the brain increase its neuroplasticity, making it stronger overtime.

Engaging in these creative challenges, helps the differently-abled focus for self-development and keeps the relentless battle with the differences they experience in check. When we engage in such non-verbal means of communication, it creates a capacity to relate to their mental state, which for the most part is not too different from the rest. Also, by being able to your tweak your emotional senses, art can activate the release of pleasure hormones such as serotonin, endorphins and the like that facilitate togetherness both in the artist and the viewer. All of this, like drops in the ocean, combine and help boost understanding, acceptance, care and love.

A few are naturally gifted to express themselves artistically, as opposed to most who are quite unaware of how to do it. But they can be taught, for we all are capable of it and silently ache for good challenges. So along with providing the differently-abled with the best of education, helping them explore their creative sides is just as important. It’s far easy to do that too, because exploring creativity is too much fun with absolutely no side-effects whatsoever. It brings the power to educate, break socio-cultural barriers, access to better thinking and more. And if you add all the benefits that was brought forward in the beginning, then it’s needless to say why it is the need of the hour!

Art has been with us since the beginning of mankind and will be around forever and to ignore the fact that it rules our lives in one way or another is silly. Only, it’s about time we used it as a medicine to heal the world and help nurture minds to the benefit of us all. With healthy minds come healthy ideas that help make this marvelous world even better. By promoting creative progress among the differently-abled, we will inch closer to that dream, one mind at a time.