Quote by Jesmyn Ward: “Sometimes the only way to endure is to make art.”

This statement suggests that in the face of profound suffering or impossible circumstances, creative expression can become a vital means of survival and coping. It highlights art's essential role not just as beauty, but as a lifeline for endurance.

In the late 2010s, amidst social and political upheaval, many artists and writers emphasized the therapeutic and political power of creative acts. Art was increasingly viewed as a necessary tool for processing collective trauma and fostering resilience.

American novelist and editor who became the first woman to win the National Book Award for Fiction twice, for Salvage the Bones and Sing, Unburied, Sing. Her work centres the lives of Black Americans in the rural Mississippi Gulf Coast.