Can Art be a Path to Peace?

I recently read the yahoo news article about the Iraqi artists painting on the walls to bring beauty to their surroundings. It sounds like a noble effort and I feel, being an art student myself, isn't a trivial one. I've found the beauty of art can be very uplifting and inspiring. I can only imagine how dreadful the barren landscapes and bombed out surroundings must look like, and more importantly, how they must make you feel inside. My question is... Can art help people become more peaceful? Can art be a way to bring a community together and give them a common, peaceful goal? Creating beauty is a deep seeded need in mankind. If people can come together peacefully and create beautiful works of art not only to inspire but to also uplift, couldn't that be a way to help solve many problems?

Can Art be a Path to Peace?
I think so.. art and beauty in all its forms speaks to our heart and soul..as you said it uplifts us and shows us the good side of ourselves. In these days anything that can do that for people has to be a good thing and a step in the right direction.
Reply:Yes!
Reply:There is no question that art is an important step towards peace. The evidence the article provides certainly supports it. The artists were “from different parts or Iraq and of different religious and ethnic backgrounds,” but one thing they could all agree on was the importance of art in bringing “happiness and joy to the Iraqis.”





One of the main functions of art it to express both our similarities and our differences. In other words, it reminds us that, while there will always be differences between us, there are characteristics that are common to us all, which make us human. These shared characteristics may take the form of the need to create beauty, as you mentioned, or other things that might be expressed in individual art pieces.





I think the view of the storeowner quoted at the end of the article is a narrow-minded one. “These paintings,” he says, “will not prevent car bombs, roadside bombs and mortar shells from claiming the lives of innocent people.” I disagree. Force (including the physical presence of the Azamiyah wall) is what will not prevent the violence in Iraq. The increase in military prowess by the U.S. has not kept the level of violence from increasing (it has likely done the opposite). The same can be said of historical examples, such as Vietnam. Art, however, has the capacity to bring together people of all different beliefs, and that, on the whole, is what will end conflicts both in Iraq and elsewhere.
Reply:Absolutely and it does help many everyday in all it's forms. Whether it be visual arts, music, dance or whatever form of art people choose to engage in, it comes from the imagination, the soul and inherently makes people feel better, whether in the expressing or the appreciation.