Art as a Universal Language:" Can Art Bridge the Gap in a Polarized Society?"

We human beings are going through a moment of profound polarization. Every day it becomes more difficult to cross the bridge of openness, respect, tolerance, and understanding among ourselves. Something I've learned as a humanitarian worker is precisely how to cross that bridge. This work gives you the opportunity to meet people from different countries, with different cultures, traditions, languages, and so on. While it's true that in an immigrant and refugee camp you have to work with translators, and their role is fundamental, there is a language that transcends any language or cultural barrier: Art. As an art therapist, I've been able to observe how through art people express themselves, not only symbolically telling us their life story, but also including the culture of their country of origin, their beliefs, traditions, and so on. We all sat at the table where I used to work, communicating through art that emerged from free and spontaneous expression. A language that wasn't limited to painting, but also included dance, music, and so on. The same thing happens with the works of art that great artists like the painter Vincent van Gogh (03/1853 - 07/1890) left us, works that transcend any cultural and language barriers. The artist uses a language that penetrates the soul of people and therefore they become timeless. The same thing happens with music, to this day the composer Antonio Vivaldi (03/1678 - 07/1741) continues to move us with his famous composition "The Four Seasons"; it is a language that remains alive and does not die. I reflect then, if in the moments of difficulty that human beings go through, art appears spontaneously as a means of healing and relief from suffering, perhaps it also plays a fundamental role in helping us overcome the polarization of these days and find the bridge we must cross that leads us to tolerance, respect, understanding, unity, compassion; in other words, that leads us to our origins, to the one of love that unites us all.