An Arts-Based Framework for Critical Hope

This article provides an ethical framework for artists who wish to respond creatively to moments of collective trauma and moral injury. The case studies described here focus primarily on developments in the United States during the first administration of Donald Trump, with emphasis on the US Capitol insurrection of January 6, 2021. However, the framework is readily applicable to any type of civically engaged artistry, and non-US examples are also explored. The framework’s primary goal is to translate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy of non-violence into the realm of the creative arts. By integrating King’s principles of non-violent activism with the contemplative practice of lovingkindness, this arts-based framework is designed to yield creative outputs that embody the notion of critical hope. Through techniques of improvisation and experimentation, arts-based inquiry can cut a middle path between cynical resignation and naive idealism. Furthermore, by pushing beyond verbal communication, it can identify latent or aspirational perspectives that the public has yet to fully articulate. The framework, therefore, resonates with current work in civil discourse and deliberation as well as in arts-based research (ABR). Featuring original music, dance, and video design, the article’s case studies aim to challenge the partisan logic of commercial social media algorithms. Such methods offer pathways for recovering a shared sense of commitment to the common good. In sum, by combining non-violent principles, contemplative practice, and arts-based techniques, the proposed framework aims to amplify the potential of civically engaged artistry to recover the possibility of the first-person plural, “We.”