In the upheaval that is going on in the country, no matter what your stance, it really is a fucking shitshow. Over the last few days I have seen numerous artists sharing their work with justifications such as “I know the world is on fire, but I have heard my art makes people happy” or “I know the world is on fire but creating art helps keep me stable and balanced.”
Stop apologizing.
In the darkest times in history, art and music have always been a place of solace for the creator and the consumer of these amazing works. During wars, plagues, political upheaval, and every catastrophic moment humanity has endured, artists have continued to create. Not in spite of the darkness, but because of it.
Art is not frivolous. It is not an indulgence. It is essential.
When everything feels like it’s falling apart, art reminds us of beauty, of meaning, of our shared humanity. It processes what words cannot capture. It bears witness. It offers hope. It provides refuge.
Your art matters because the world is on fire, not in spite of it.
You don’t need to justify your creative practice with disclaimers about how it helps others or keeps you sane though both of those things are true and valuable. You can simply create because you are an artist, and that is what artists do. We make things. We bear witness through our work. We hold space for feeling when everything else demands numbness.
History will remember this moment not just for its chaos, but for how we responded to it. The artists who kept creating, who refused to let darkness silence beauty, who transformed pain into something tangible—they are the ones who help us survive. They are the ones who help us remember we are still human.
So make your art. Share your work. Do it without apology, without justification, without guilt.
The world needs your voice now more than ever.
The Evidence: Why Art Matters During Crisis
If you need proof that art isn’t frivolous during difficult times, the data and history speak for themselves.
The Mental Health Impact
- Research consistently shows that both creating and viewing art provides measurable mental health benefits during times of crisis. According to recent studies, 96% of participants in art workshops reported satisfaction, with 78% strongly agreeing that creating art helped them express emotions and 77.8% feeling better afterward. During the COVID-19 pandemic, art therapy professionals reported that 53% continued working as essential frontline workers in psychiatric hospitals and mental health clinics, because art therapy was deemed critical for helping people cope with isolation, trauma, and grief.
- A 2020 American Psychiatric Association poll found that 65% of Americans engaged in creative activities during their free time, with 46% specifically using them to relieve stress and anxiety. Even just five minutes of viewing art online has been shown to reduce stress and mental exhaustion while increasing dopamine—the brain’s happiness chemical.
- Museum-based interventions have demonstrated remarkable results: participants experiencing psychological distress showed significant clinical improvements, with those reporting high well-being increasing from 34% to 50%. Studies of young people engaging with arts organizations during the pandemic found that art activities helped them mobilize and transform difficult emotions, provided social support, and contributed to identity formation during one of the most isolating periods in modern history.
The Historical Record
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The Historical Record
- Throughout history’s darkest moments, artists have never stopped creating. During World War II, artists worked under the most unimaginable conditions in occupied countries, internment camps, and even death camps—driven by what scholars call a powerful “urge to create.” This creative impulse became an act of survival, documentation, and resistance.
- In the Kovno ghetto, artist Esther Lurie was asked by the Council of Elders to document everything happening around her because they recognized the importance of art as both creative expression and documentary evidence. Her drawings later served as testimony at the Eichmann trial in 1961, officially recognized by the Supreme Court for their documentary value. Artists like Halina Olomucki drew continuously from 1945-1947, immediately after liberation, aware of the documentary importance of recording what they had witnessed.
- British War Artists Advisory Committee, founded in 1939, believed artists had special skills useful to a country at war: they could interpret and express the essence of wartime experiences in ways cameras could not. Artists were given freedom to choose their subjects and styles, creating works that brought international recognition while bearing witness to history.
- Even during the 1918 flu pandemic which killed more people than World War I artists continued creating. The Dada movement emerged partly in response to the absurdity of that moment, with artists using collage to cut, reassemble, and remix their understanding of a world simultaneously ravaged by war and disease. Edvard Munch painted “Self-Portrait with the Spanish Flu” in 1919, turning his own illness into art.
The Numbers Tell a Story
- More than 650 million people worldwide have benefitted from art therapy
Art therapy has been shown to be particularly effective for depression, anxiety, PTSD, cancer patients, veterans, and elderly patients - Studies show art engagement increases blood flow to the brain’s pleasure centers, increases serotonin levels, and fosters new ways of thinking
- During WWII, Britain’s War Artists Advisory Committee commissioned artists specifically because their work was considered essential to national morale and cultural preservation
- Hundreds of thousands of pieces of art were looted during the Holocaust, a testament to how much the Nazis understood art’s power to preserve culture and identity
Conclusion
Art isn’t a luxury. It’s a human need. It’s how we process the unprocessable, document the unimaginable, and maintain our humanity when everything else threatens to strip it away.
History will remember this moment not just for its chaos, but for how we responded to it. The artists who kept creating, who refused to let darkness silence beauty, who transformed pain into something tangible—they are the ones who help us survive. They are the ones who help us remember we are still human.
So make your art. Share your work.
Do it without apology, without justification, without guilt.
The world needs your voice now more than ever.
