大象传媒

For , Indigenous cultures have prioritized joy-based artistic practices鈥攁nd science is finally catching up. Studies now show that go hand in hand; creative expression passed down from generation to generation in forms of dance, songs, stories, poems, and visual arts reinforces collective joy, cohesion, and well-being for the practitioners. Art is so deeply woven into humanity that it is difficult to find any devoid of art form. So what happens when people are denied artistic expression?

I have a unique perspective on the subject: I was 6 when Islamic fundamentalists and started a war on joy. I learned quickly that oppression often manifests through the policing of the arts. The morality police cracked down on most types of music, dancing, and even playing. Our teen neighbor鈥檚 birthday party was who pointed AK-47s at us. Half of my sister鈥檚 high school senior class was imprisoned. Without warning, one of her friends was executed.

At the same time, we found ourselves embroiled in a bloody war with Iraq, and daily funerals became routine. There was little to be joyful about, but my family and friends still took dangerous risks to nourish our souls. We intuitively knew playing , singing, and dancing served as powerful coping mechanisms to get us through the devastation of war and theocratic oppression. We broke the law even though we knew we could lose our freedom or even our lives.

More than four decades later, Iranians are still engaging in collective joy as an act of , often with dire consequences. Now as a (MAP) in the United States, I bring music and dance to refugees as a form of communal healing. When I started dancing with refugees in Tijuana, Mexico, in 2018, some activists dismissed the program as frivolous and even wasteful. They argued that refugees needed legal and medical help and permanent housing, not art.

While those are real needs that must be addressed, the shelter directors asked us to continue the program even if we couldn鈥檛 provide a monetary donation. The directors told us that the of our sessions, including increased collaboration, lasted several days. Participants reported feeling more at ease and less anxious or depressed, with even headaches disappearing.

During the pandemic lockdown, asylum seekers stranded in Mexico insisted on continuing the program, leading us to transfer our dancing to Zoom sessions.

Around the same time, essential workers and activists dealing with began reaching out to us to organize similar programs. Having witnessed countless instances of transformation in these sessions, I鈥檝e grown increasingly curious about the link between joy and , an interdisciplinary field of research that explores how aesthetic experiences and the arts affect the body, brain, and behavior.

Susan Magsamen, the founder of the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University and the co-author of , confirms that there is an inherent human need for joy 鈥渢hrough neuroaesthetic experiences.鈥� Activities that bring us joy stimulate the release of dopamine in the brain, which contributes to mood regulation, learning, and memory enhancement. 鈥淩esearchers are confirming that the body naturally leans toward health and it is in play, music, dance, and visual arts that our bodies respond, find nourishment and healing,鈥� she says.

Given that the nervous system acts as a homing device for neuroaesthetic experiences that stabilize, nourish, and fortify us, it is unsurprising that even in the most dangerous parts of the world, people engage in communal arts. Here are a few examples of such resilience and resistance in the most perilous conditions.

Art With Asylum-Seekers in Tijuana

Currently, the U.S. has more than with unprecedented waiting periods of up to seven years. The trauma of experiencing violence, fleeing an unsafe home, undergoing a grueling journey, and then facing the uncertainty of the asylum process takes a heavy toll on , many of whom are children. 

Ada, the director of a migrant shelter in Tijuana, who is using a pseudonym to protect her identity, believes that collective joy expressed through the arts provides a sanctuary for healing. Migrants themselves view this as an act of resistance in the face of unjust and often draconian policies that prevent them from seeking refuge. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we adopted the concept of joyful resistance or in Spanish, ,鈥� Ada says. The practice allows migrants, whose bodies are constantly policed, to reclaim some of their .

Ada and her group also noticed early on that the media doesn鈥檛 include migrant voices. 鈥淢ost of the time when there is talk of immigration, you only hear experts, authorities, and organizations,鈥� Ada adds. By engaging in music, art, and mural making, migrants can raise their own voices without compromising their identity. In this way, resiste gozando has become a powerful vehicle for amplifying migrant voices.

Dancing With Freed Congolese Child Soldiers in Uganda

In , where Congolese Tutsi have been systematically massacred and driven from their ancestral lands for nearly 30 years, my MAP colleague, , dances with traumatized kids in three settlements catering to hundreds of thousands of refugees in western Uganda.

When he was 18 months old, Conrad鈥檚 entire family was murdered during the Rwandan genocide; he was the only survivor. His adoptive mother found him hidden in a sorghum garden and brought him to Uganda. 鈥淚 joined MAP because I saw the impact music and dance had on my own healing journey,鈥� he says.

The age range of the child soldiers, the majority being girls, spans from 7 to 14 years old. Most children were kidnapped by various factions of Congolese rebels and endured horrifying experiences, including being trained to become killers themselves. The children were ultimately rescued by joint forces beginning in 2018 and brought to refugee settlements, where Conrad鈥檚 team is providing activities for trauma healing. 

鈥淲e play music, move our bodies, and create together,鈥� Conrad adds. He finds that the traditional popular in central Africa connects the children to their roots and makes healing war wounds more accessible. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to see the smiles and laughter return to their faces as they begin to heal.鈥�

Singing and Dancing With Kids in Gaza

Even before Oct. 7, 2023, many Palestinians experienced . Instead of , where the mind is trapped in a loop of a traumatic experience, there is no end to the trauma they are experiencing every single day. The situation is far worse now, especially for the more than 600,000 children who are enduring starvation, , constant displacement, and loss of loved ones.

My MAP colleague, , recognized the urgent need to tend to children鈥檚 mental health and was set to resume the singing program a few weeks after October 7. Before he could begin, he was in an Israeli airstrike.

During months of incessant bombing and slaughter, another one of my colleagues, , sang indigenous Palestinian songs with displaced children in different parts of Gaza. Those children told Shamaly they were afraid of being bombed and becoming martyrs. Singing together allowed them to experience grounding, joy, and respite from the constant horror. 

With the help of donors, MAP evacuated Shamaly in April, but her entire family is still suffering in Gaza. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really a genocide,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he Israeli army bombed everything. Gaza is destroyed. Our life [is] destroyed,鈥� she adds. After leaving Palestine, Shamaly immediately returned to music to help her with the trauma she experienced and to use her voice to bring attention to the plight of Palestinians. Her music was live streamed at this past April.

At the time of this writing Bashar Al-Bilbisi, a 23-year-old pharmacist and the director of the Al-Fursan Arts Ensemble still teaches , an Indigenous Palestinian dance, to children in Gaza. He, and the children he dances with, were displaced multiple times and are still on the move to evade Israeli airstrikes. 鈥淲e dance together to preserve our heritage and also to be a means of discharging negative energy in all areas of Gaza, despite all the difficulties we are exposed to due to the war,鈥� he says.

Communal Culture for Collective Healing

Joy and art are transcendent and essential to human . 鈥淲e often say that the arts create culture, culture creates community, and community creates humanity,鈥� says Magsamen.

Refugees, the oppressed, and the dispossessed carry their community, culture, and humanity in their blood through generations-old songs, poetry, and dances that no assailant can take away from them. 鈥淭hese aspects of their culture are ingrained in them, and they need nothing more than their voices and their bodies to access the foundational aspects of their communities,鈥� adds Magsamen.

Many populations have and are currently experiencing . Communal art, then, fosters joy, serving as a primer to connect to one鈥檚 self to one鈥檚 roots, and to others. It also provides a supportive environment to invite and process more difficult emotions. While addressing the root causes of individual suffering from various angles is essential, now is the perfect time to embark on the journey of through cultivating joyful communal practices, nurturing healthier individuals, and fostering a more robust society.

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