Reimagining wellbeing: Using arts-based methods to address sexual, gender and health inequalities

The Creative Change Laboratory (CCoLAB) was conceived as an immersive learning space in which young people from the Western Cape province of South Africa could develop unconventional solutions to problems in their communities. Unlike most art-activism projects, CCoLAB harnessed a wide range of expressive forms (visual art, interactive drama, narrative writing and photography/videography) to identify, analyse and respond to social justice challenges. In many ways, CCoLAB was an experiment, asking what could be achieved if an art-activism project was held over a long period and was not constrained by a focus on just one theme/topic. Over eight months, CCoLAB's twenty collaborators were exposed to different ways of thinking and doing activism, culminating in the development of original creative prototypes. Many of the final artworks spoke to the nuances of sexuality, gender and health, exploring topics such as sexual- and gender-based violence, the everyday challenges facing queer and trans youth, and physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Drawing on artworks produced during the project, facilitator/collaborator reflections, and audio and visual recordings made during the process, this paper investigates the benefits and challenges of long-term, well-resourced art-activism interventions.