Voices of Wellbeing | Yazmany Arboleda, Artist Voices of Wellbeing | Yazmany Arboleda, Artist
“MY ART PRACTICE EVOLVED FROM SEEKING OUT ACCEPTANCE AND CELEBRATION OF DIFFERENCE”
Where do we have the chance to practice imagining? And how do we do that together?
Colombian American Artist, Yazmany Arboleda, recounts his process behind developing his Hospital of the Soul installation for the Wellbeing Summit for Change. In the fall of 2019, Yazmany spent time in Bilbao, Biscay, meeting citizens from the region at a constellations retreat with specialist therapist, Judith Hemming. In this interview, he shares how the heartache and pain felt by these individual Basque civilians and their families was rooted in history and impacted by the civil war beginning in the 1930s. Getting to know these people and their stories led him to reflect on his own intergenerational trauma and the experiences of his family back in the mountains of Medellin, Colombia, as well as the ongoing racial injustice and violence in America where he now lives.
Watch his full story to hear his vision for joining the threads of belonging, interconnectedness, and true celebration of difference by using art and human connection to break down religious barriers or other social constructs that may divide us.
