Academia Hanging by a Thread

This painting represents how I see my research. Yet, you might see other meanings in the piece. I was told that many in academia feel this way about their work, and that universities are facing multiple crises. Art can transmit an affective and embodied experience in a way that words cannot. In my research, I propose that arts-based research is a way to approach and study complex themes in the humanities; but what I hear around me during this time of crisis is hopelessness. I hear that theory, talking, storytelling, visual arts, performing arts, nothing matters academically, because they do not make a difference in our communities and cannot cause a positive impact. Is that so?