SOCIAL CHALLENGES

2020 saw a large number of people worldwide under lockdown for long stretches of time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures, while effective, have had a negative, long-term impact on people’s mental health globally. As mental health is often ignored and stigmatized, many people lack access to suitable treatment.

PROJECT APPROACH

The “Porsche Art Healing Project” is a creative artistic practice and public welfare program which relies on Porsche’s “Young Chinese Artists of the Year” (YAOY) platform, initiated by Porsche China, CC Foundation, and ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair. In response to the global pandemic, these three parties jointly initiated the project, demonstrating humanistic care by helping people relieve stress and recover from trauma. Prior to the project launch, several artists and authorities participated in professional training sessions, creating inspiring artwork to pro- mote mental wellbeing. The project’s first-of-its-kind art therapy platform combines psychotherapy with art, using an online mini-program that provides visitors with education materials on art’s healing power, self-diagnosis tests, digital art exhibitions, and interactive games. An offline exhibition was also launched to expand public access.

The key participants of this project were thought leaders, carefully chosen from various fields. By working with first- class domestic art institutions, well-known artists and curators, international art therapists, and a famous film actor, the project created a rigorous mechanism, maximizing communication by leveraging the social influence of participants.

VALUE ADDED

In total, 40 artists were involved in the project, and six pieces of artwork were displayed in the exhibition in Shanghai, attracting over 100,000 visitors. The mini-program was viewed more than 23,000 times. Artists    Liu    Jianhua,    Ma Haijiao, Lu Pingyuan, Gong Jian, and Zheng Da tailor created art-healing works. Their porcelains, videos, sound installations, paintings, and digital media installations either focus on their self-re- flections during the global pandemic, address social and environmental concerns, explore art’s capacity for healing, or examined the human relationship with nature and the universe. Artist Wang Xin has created a series of art installations, titled “Temporary Quarantine House,” all of which were equipped with a tablet and a speaker, targeting auditory healing. On top of that, Porsche China held over 18 pandemic control and prevention training sessions for high-risk groups during the pandemic, such as students, logistics workers, and the elderly.

LESSONS LEARNED

Through the “Public Art Healing Project,” Porsche learned that art projects are a highly effective way of helping people recover from trauma. Therefore, Porsche has developed several ideas to make art and art healing more accessible to the general public.

IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE

As a supplement to the “Young Chinese Artist of the Year,” the “Art Healing Project” is a successful exploration for Porsche in the arts. The company plans to work toward expanding the public’s interest in the arts. With the help of the “Art Healing Project,” Porsche hopes to deliver the concept of healing through art to the public and raise awareness of mental health initiatives. Current plans include creating a multilanguage mini-program and getting more international artists involved in the platform.

Source: More Than A Market Booklet 2021