Redefining Connection and Meaning-Making through Virtual Artistic Community Amidst Persistent Adversity: A Community Engagement Project

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the meaning of community drastically shifted across the world. Many groups and individuals were forced to alter their professional, academic, and personal lives in order to persevere through this collective, global health crisis. During a time in history where so much changed in a short period of time, community and peer supports became more important than ever. Specifically for students involved in arts or expressive arts programs, the process of collective art making serves as a means of communication, connection, and emotional and mental processing. Without these connections and critical supports, feelings of disconnect, disinterest, loss and isolation increased across many student groups. To address the needs of this community, the following Community Engagement Project, called “Expressive Arts Community Care,” was offered through a series of virtual, expressive arts community group meetings, in collaboration with Lesley University Mutual Aid, and Lesley’s Office of Community Service Art.For.Change project in April of 2021. The project sought to explore, examine, and potentially redefine what artistic community spaces can look like and feel like through virtual platforms, while providing a supportive space to members of the defined community as they continued to persist through indefinite adversity. The results of this project indicate that through greater accessible spaces to share in artistic experiences, a ripple effect of community, growth, and healing can unfold