Loneliness, Social Cohesion, and the Role of Art Making

Global interest in the rising rates of loneliness runs parallel to increased concern about weakening social cohesion. Both phenomena are described as complexly entwined with trust and agency and related to wellbeing at both an individual and societal level. Whilst opinions are numerous and divided on how to alleviate loneliness and build social cohesion, there is some important coalescence around claims of the contribution of art making to both warding off loneliness and building social cohesion. This paper draws on the work of Hannah Arendt and contemporary readings of her theory of loneliness to suggest how art making can be efficacious and why it should play a central role in community building rather than be relegated to a peripheral desideratum. Drawing on data from two studies into community art making, the paper explores how the inter- and intrapersonal processes of being seen and showing can alleviate loneliness, begin to restore agency, and help build social cohesion.