![Drawing of Clara Nartey](/sites/default/files/styles/square_sm/public/2024-03/ClaraNartey_1.jpg?h=8a7fc05e&itok=jW6-glY6)
The Power of Art to Cultivate Joy
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I love how art can take us on a journey to another way of seeing things. And, I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that the human condition is a little rough and rocky these days — so I feel drawn to opportunities to cultivate joy.
In my role as Chair of the Art Committee at Yale School of Management, I have the chance to impact the space through the iconography on the walls. I wanted to do something real and uplifting. Then I met Clara Nartey and experienced her work. I am delighted to welcome her to this podcast so others can hear about her perspective and process.
In this episode, we speak about art as a reflective practice, the impact of art on education, and the power of art to encourage discussion and change minds. Clara encourages us to explore art as a means of reflection and a way to navigate difficult topics and conversations that we may have otherwise avoided.
The Joy of Living Exhibit at the Yale School of Management is a permanent exhibit by artist Clara Nartey. Clara is a textile artist and former management consultant, her exhibit at Yale is a reflection of her experience of the pandemic, and it has become a part of the context and fabric of the experience of this building.
Key Topics:
04:10 Finding your way through experience: Challenging our perspective around difficult experiences and allowing them to become learning opportunities that lead us to courageous leaps.
10:02 The journey of becoming an artist: Learning through and from opportunities as they come to you in life, stretching and building range from them.
14:50 Creativity and self-reflection during the pandemic: Reflecting on what life means and creating art and joy from that place of reflection.
17:25 Art as a reflective practice: Being in a relationship with the creative process, directing your learning, and letting the work speak to you and evolve.
19:19 The power of art to change minds: There is a stretching of mind, heart, and spirit that happens through perceiving human issues through the arts.
Learn more:
The Joy of Living by Clara Nartey
Listen to Clara Nartey discuss the works in the exhibit.
Readers are Leaders, 2022, Inks and Threads on Cotton, 65″x 54″
![A painting of a man reading](/sites/default/files/styles/optimized/public/2024-03/Readers%20are%20Leaders.jpg?itok=ouFYModp)
Listen:
All Lit Up, 2022, Threads and Inks on Cotton, 40″ x 30″
![The artist next to her painting](/sites/default/files/styles/optimized/public/2024-03/All%20Lit%20Up.jpg?itok=-O4WcIv9)
Listen:
A Spring in my Step, 2023, Inks and Threads on Cotton, 40″x30″
![A portrait of a woman wearing a hat](/sites/default/files/styles/optimized/public/2024-03/A%20Spring%20in%20my%20Step.jpg?itok=wYl3MtZ9)
Listen:
Dancing Queen in Little Accra, 2022, Inks and threads on cotton, 7’x5′
![The artist next to a portrait of a dancing woman](/sites/default/files/styles/optimized/public/2024-03/Dancing%20Queen%20in%20Little%20Accra.jpg?itok=sB4NOep4)
Listen:
Free Spirit, 2023, Inks and Threads on Cotton, 40″x 30″
![A portrait of a laughing woman](/sites/default/files/styles/optimized/public/2024-03/Free%20Spirit.jpg?itok=gsuvb3KM)
Listen:
Breaking Bread, 2022, Inks and Threads on Cotton, 36″x36″
![The artist with a portrait of a woman baking bread](/sites/default/files/styles/optimized/public/2024-03/Baking%20Bread.jpg?itok=7EtY4jFj)