The Power of Art in Post-Pandemic Recovery: Lessons from Dr. Roberto Rivera

Our most recent justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) training this spring was with Dr. Roberto Rivera, titled “Art as a Modality for Building Community, Healing and Social Change: Creating the Beloved Community.” Rivera began the session by sharing about the concept of post-traumatic healing. This healing has been necessary post-COVID-19 because of the disproportionate impact the pandemic had on communities of color in this country caused by job and economic disparities in the United States. Rivera stressed that Latinx communities, and other communities of color, were on the frontline in critical roles in various professions and industries. As a result, they were most likely to acquire and, therefore, die from the virus.

Rivera posits that if that is the case, it stands to reason that recovery takes longer in these communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, and recovery only happens through recognition that the need for healing persists. Patience, understanding and intentionality about how one might go about the healing process is tantamount. He noted, healing can take place in the arts.

Rivera shared how art was central and transformative in his personal healing journey. As a result of his experience, he looks at how that transformative type of experience plays out in other communities across the country—and in other parts of the world.

His work has led him to delve into the development of what he calls, “The Beloved Community,” which focuses on indigenous cultures and how multigenerational people of the community come together. This happens through sharing cultural and spiritual traditions, passed down by the elders of the community. Elders work and teach while simultaneously learning from the next generation through a symbiotic relationship that creates a nexus, value and meaning for all involved, with art installation as the catalyst and outcome. It centralizes art as a sustainable representation of the community coming together to elevate each other. He ended the session with a challenge: “How can Overture serve that purpose in Madison?”

Rivera’s approach builds upon the skills and other JEDI topics Overture staff and affiliated organizations have participated in over the last few years. It also helps to operationalize the work and impact of the arts in justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.

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