Enhancing intergroup dialogues through art and art therapy

• Published date: 01 June 2021
• Author: Jordan S. Potash,Alberta Gyimah‐Boadi
• Date: 01 June 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21304

PRACTICE NOTE

Enhancing intergroup dialogues through art

and art therapy

Jordan S. Potash

1

| Alberta Gyimah-Boadi

2

1

Art Therapy Program, The George

Washington University, Alexandria,

Virginia

2

Families First Counseling and

Psychiatry, Olney, Maryland

Correspondence

Jordan S. Potash, Art Therapy Program,

The George Washington University, 1925

Ballenger Avenue, Suite 250, Alexandria,

VA 22314.

Email: jpotash@gwu.edu

Abstract

Intergroup dialogue contributes to community develop-

ment by providing structured and facilitated opportuni-

ties for narrative engagement and perspective taking

that can foster social change. Both art and art therapy

can be infused within intergroup dialogue to harness

imagination and creativity in order to heighten reflec-

tion and promote emotional connections. An art

therapy-informed model enhanced self-awareness, sto-

rytelling, and interpersonal interactions by helping par-

ticipants discuss direct encounters of difference as well

as specific events and people.

1|INTRODUCTION

For a room of 25 people, it is quiet as people bend over square sheets of paper with art materials

nearby. A carefully planned color pencil drawing takes shape as a Black woman works on a

portrait; one half realistic and the other composed of drawn mosaic. Across the room, a White

woman layers purple, brown, black, and gray oil pastels blending them as she works in a messy

but seemingly intentional way. Artmaking yields to reflective writing and then conversation

begins. The sketch of the woman's childhood self-embodies a memory from elementary school

when a White classmate insisted that she use brown for her self-portrait. The abstract colors

take on meaning when the artist explains how they symbolize mourning a national tragedy,

assault, and lost relationships. When everyone shared, once again there was quiet as stories of

personal experiences illuminated each person's current social perspective.

2|AIMS

In the aftermath of the U.S. 2016 Presidential election, we became concerned for the seeming

inability of individuals across political, racial, and cultural divides to relate to one another. We,

Received: 16 November 2020 Revised: 4 April 2021 Accepted: 7 April 2021

DOI: 10.1002/crq.21304

Conflict Resolution Quarterly. 2021;38:335–347. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/crq © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC. 335