Art as a Practice of Sacred Resistance, Collective Healing and Deepening Belonging
Charter Oak Cultural Center
Hartford
May 29. 2025
The Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford hosted a unique virtual event Thursday night, where participants were invited to explore art as resistance and healing. It became a transformative experience for me.
Hosted by Professor Yohana Junker of Claremont School of Theology, the lecture was framed largely around examples of the professor’s art, which she affectionately referred to as doodles. She also had more intricate artwork as well, such as the image above where Junker imagined her great-grandmother, whom she never met. The discussion also discussed the works of more famous artists who used their art to make statements of resistance, but it was the last part of the event that changed me.
Towards the end of the lecture, Professor Junker invited all of us to create our own artwork. She told us to write a word in the center of the page, and then let our pens move freely across the page as we breathed in and out slowly.
I wrote the word “peace” across my page, keeping scribbles from crossing over each other to maintain a pristine design. But I quickly abandoned that restriction. It was a case of form leading function though — I was running out of space on the small piece of paper I’d chosen to draw on, so I had no choice but to cross the lines.
That necessity made me realize that I hadn’t allowed myself to let my pen to be free. I still imposed a limit on myself, and I found myself wondering why. What was the artistic goal? What in my own imagination informed that decision?
I didn’t spend much time contemplating it, though, because as soon as I crossed the first line I felt a wave of stress and tension melt off of my body. On some conscious level, I was aware that the last few weeks had been challenging for many reasons, but I hadn’t realized it had built up in my body. I felt a knot in my thigh relax. A sharp pain that had been randomly surging in my shin dulled. The tightness in my back began to loosen up.
By the time I had filled almost all the blank space on my tiny page, the last few weeks felt like a distant memory. I’ve never been someone who has practiced visual art for its healing abilities. I’ve poured thousands of words into my journals to express my pain, but this was my first time drawing it out. I was shocked at how fast it worked and how much better I felt. It feels like a mediation technique that could finally work for me.
The experience was similarly moving for others in our group. They shared their words and their doodles over the screen, and that led to conversations about past losses, future promise and the nature of God itself.
I’m still not sure that I would put resistance and healing in the same category. Resistance feels too externally defined- it’s a stressed response to the overtures of others. Yes it’s necessary, but in its own time and place. But I definitely felt healed last night, at a time where I didn’t even realize I needed it.
NEXT
Jamil continues exploring the healing power of art at the Stowe House.
