Art for Healing: Medair and Artolution

A partnership for resilience

In refugee camps worldwide, trauma and displacement weigh heavily on those who have fled unimaginable violence. Families, uprooted from their homes, navigate daily life burdened by memories that linger long after basic needs are met. Yet within these spaces of hardship, something extraordinary is taking place. Medair has partnered with Artolution to bring art into mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) programmes, offering communities a powerful tool for healing and dignity restoration.

This partnership, launched in September 2023, introduces an innovative approach to MHPSS, using art to foster behavioural change and enhance social support. The initial project, completed in Lebanon in early 2024, serves as a successful pilot that will soon expand into Medair’s programmes in South Sudan, Kenya, Jordan, Poland, and Ukraine.

This is the second article in a series exploring the integration of the arts into MHPSS.

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The Artolution method

Artolution addresses local and global challenges by equipping local teaching artists from within affected communities to lead transformative art programmes. These artists empower participants, particularly youth, to express themselves and connect with others through collaborative murals, sculptures, and performances. Beyond creative engagement, these art programmes serve as safe, therapeutic spaces for trauma recovery, while also promoting mental health, social inclusion, and employment skills. Artolution’s approach to public art fosters self-esteem, cooperation across social divides, and skills training, providing participants with paid work opportunities and encouraging them to advocate for public health, gender-based violence prevention and human rights.

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Complementing Medair’s MHPSS approach

Artolution’s approach integrates seamlessly with Medair’s MHPSS efforts. Together, they create safe, supportive spaces where expression and healing can flourish. Through these art-based MHPSS programmes, children, adolescents, and adults are able to engage in difficult conversations and create lasting public artworks that become symbols of resilience and renewal. In areas scarred by hardship, art allows communities to reclaim shared spaces, transforming sites of trauma into places of hope. The collaboration between Medair and Artolution empowers individuals and communities to rebuild confidence, fostering resilience and strengthening social bonds through art.

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Safe spaces for healing: Dildar’s story

In the sprawling Rohingya refugee camps of Bangladesh, thousands of refugees work to rebuild their lives after fleeing persecution in Myanmar. Among them is Dildar, a young woman who endured immense trauma that left her unable to speak. For her, as for many others, healing began with a brush, some paint, and a spark of hope.

For weeks, Dildar participated silently in Artolution’s art-making sessions. Though she didn’t speak, her engagement with painting and creating murals allowed her to express what words couldn’t. Gradually, the process of creating art in a supportive environment began to work its way through the walls her mind had built up around her trauma. The art sessions were more than just creative outlets – they were carefully designed spaces of connection, where participants like Dildar felt seen and heard, even without words.

Then, one day, something shifted. Surrounded by her peers and facilitators, Dildar found her voice. “Being able to do art gives me hope again,” she said. Her simple statement encapsulated the core of Medair and Artolution’s collaboration: restoring hope through the transformative power of art.

This moment was more than a turning point for Dildar – it was a testament to the impact of art in MHPSS. Through their collaboration, Medair and Artolution are creating a holistic approach that combines essential medical and emotional care with the restorative power of artistic expression.

Empowerment through artistic leadership

Today, Dildar’s journey has come full circle. No longer just a participant, she is now one of Artolution’s leading teaching artists in Bangladesh. Her transformation from a silent refugee to a strong advocate for art-driven healing exemplifies the lasting impact of Medair and Artolution’s partnership. In her new role, Dildar inspires others to embark on their own healing journeys, reinforcing a cycle of resilience and hope that ripples through her community.

Restoring dignity, one brushstroke at a time

Dildar’s story is one among many that highlight how art-based MHPSS programmes, woven into Medair’s humanitarian efforts, can transform lives. By combining art with psychosocial support, Medair and Artolution provide more than immediate relief; they help individuals rediscover a sense of purpose, dignity, and joy that may have been diminished by trauma and displacement.

As Dildar’s story reveals, healing through art creates a profound ripple effect. Empowered individuals like her become role models for others, inspiring entire communities to believe in their own capacity for healing and renewal. Together, Medair and Artolution are restoring lives and hope, one brushstroke at a time.

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Medair services are funded by a variety of private and public donors.

This content was produced with resources gathered by Medair and Artolution field and headquarters staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and Artolution and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organisation.  

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