Men in Arts: Why More Men Should Take Up Creative Outlets by Vanessa Caxinga
Why men should embrace the Arts
Finding a creative outlet and allowing the creativity to grow and develop alongside you by telling a story is pushed in the media to be a feminine task; but to live a full and balanced life, it's important to add creativity to express yourselves. Allowing yourself to track your progress in a personalised manner with a creative outlet can prevent emotional build up and improve brain function, helping with mental and physical health. By removing the stereotypes around creativity, men gain freedom in self-expression and the ability to open doors to potential opportunities and career paths. Creativity doesn’t always mean visual art as painting or sculpting but the limit is endless, from poetry to speak your mind, photography to document small aspects of your life to creating a new meal that fills your soul and becomes a new family recipe.
Not all art is made to be seen, the misconception of creating is to share every speck with people around but sometimes the best art is the art that we keep just for us. Just like in a game or card, you have to keep them close to your chest until you’re ready for the win; play the fool experiment till you find a process that speaks to you and one which lets you speak. Becoming a little bit selfish in putting time into a craft and at the same time becoming selfless in order to heal and grow as a person.
How art can be beneficial for mental health
Some of the benefits include motor skills and neutral connection, enhancing creative abilities and encouraging imagination, improving communication, boosting self-esteem and building connection and community by changing the environment in which we create so we can connect to our true selves. Additionally, art can also help us deal with physical pain, as by using our focus on the task of creating, it allows us to almost disconnect from our physical perception.
Art is not a luxury, it's sustenance and a way we heal. Even 10 minutes of creative activity can change a person's state of mind reducing stress and anxiety; but how can art contribute to healing? Art is healing because it forces you to forge a connection between your mind and your body. Unlike exercise, which works your body, or meditation, which clears your mind, art-making accesses both mind and body to promote healing. The traditional arts that are used for healing include music, art, dance/movement, poetry/writing and drama by removing the stigma and/or others' views and just allowing yourself to create what you please by detaching any kind of deadlines, goals and expectations.
Men in arts
Looking at how men in art have used their creative outlet to grow careers and names:
Norwegian painter Edvard Munch is remembered for his iconic work The Scream, Pablo Picasso created some of the most visually impressive art of the 20th century while Damon Albarn is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known as the lead singer of the British rock band Blur, the co-founder, vocalist, instrumentalist and principal songwriter of the virtual band Gorillaz. Lastly, George R. R. Martin is an American author known for his epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.
Written by Vanessa Caxinga
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References and sources used to create this piece:
This article was written in association with Mindless Mag. By partnering with the social change platform Guy Cry Club CIC could connect with their network of global storytellers who then produced a series of articles exploring masculinity, mental health and creativity. Find out more about Mindless Mag and the brilliant work they do below.
