The Resurrection of Art and Human Dignity MAGNETS Case Study

Paper in proceeding, 2023

To overcome social isolation and complete art production standstill, during the Covid-19 outbreak we chose the “blue pill” (The Matrix, 1999) in favour of an artificial, digital space where we transferred most of our activities and practices. Building on the idea that participating in artistic endeavours has a positive impact on psychological well-being and health and is a very good model to tackle current social challenges, we ran MAGNETS a collaborative art project in the digital realm. Through online interviews with the artists who participated in the MAGNETS project, we have discovered a powerful link between art and human dignity. In this paper, we argue that participation in collaborative artistic creation through the digital realm is a process that restores and reaffirms human dignity and contributes to “social healing”. We also call for more exploration of collaborative art in the digital realm as it offers a safe space where aesthetics is experienced through the process of creation and as a functional solution to a specific social problem.