How to Use Your Art to Heal the World

“All animals have the ability to suffer in the same way and to the same degree that humans do. They feel pain, pleasure, fear, frustration, loneliness, and motherly love.” - PETA

Artists Care Deeply

As a fellow artist, I know that you care deeply about the world—I do, too. We all have causes that move us deeply and stir us to take action. Are you passionate about the environment? Do you yearn to alleviate hunger? Or perhaps you want to help rid the world of diseases such as cancer.

Guess what? You can use your art to help!

Two Ways Your Art Can Heal:

Express Your Concern in Your Art!

The first way you can use your art to help the causes you’re passionate about is to use them as subjects of your artwork. Perhaps your landscape paintings express your fears of the threats those landscapes face from the climate crisis.

Here are some inspiring examples of how several artists expressed their support for animal rights through art:

Zoe Birrell created an installation of 420 dairy cows composed of vegan fair-trade chocolate. The complete installation weighed 118 pounds (her entire body weight). Zoe uses these sculptures to comment on the daily life of a mistreated dairy cow, showing the loss of the mother’s baby calf and the effects on the cow’s body of being kept perpetually pregnant. 

Jo-Anne McArthur uses photography to make powerful statements about animals. She both documents devastating moments of suffering as well as lovely moments of rescue. In addition to these photo series, Jo-Anne also has a published book called We Animals displaying animals in human environments. The book details how animals are exploited for the needs of humans.

Peter Max, known primarily for his pop art, does vibrant portraits of horses to raise awareness for the mistreatment of New York City carriage horses. In 2013, he partnered with the Wild for Life Foundation to further his advocacy.

Put Art Sales to Work for Good

Perhaps it’s not a good fit for your artwork to express the causes that mean so much to you. Don’t despair! You can still use the financial power of your art to contribute to organizations that have missions you support.

For example, I am passionate about animal rights. My heart breaks for abused and homeless animals! So I contribute a portion of the proceeds from my original and commissioned works to organizations that support animals in need. It gives me a feeling of pride, peace, and purpose to use my art to help animals

Here’s an inspiring example: As a 9-year-old boy in Virginia, Connor Jones sold crayon sketches at his parents’ yard sale. He raised $100 for a local animal shelter called Angels of Assisi, and was inspired to continue his art for animals. He donates to organizations such as Deaf Dogs Rock and All-American Mutt Rescue. Connor additionally was offered the opportunity to be an illustrator for a published book about a therapy cat, and now he inspires his peers to do their part in saving animals. 

How Will You Put Your Art to Work for the World?

I’d love to hear about the causes that are near and dear to your heart. Tell me about them in the comments below—and let me know how you think your art can advance your cause!

Tell me in the comments!