Art-Based Learning in the last stage of life: An exploratory study on how cancer patients create meaning in relation to artworks

Art - and Art-Based Learning - can help people in palliative care with a diagnosis of advanced cancer create meaning in their lives. This is the conclusion of a research conducted by Silvia Russel, artist and researcher affiliated with ArtEZ's professorship Art Education as Critical Tactics. The results of Russel's research were recently published in the scientific journal Palliative Medicine.

Living with a terminal illness: in a seemingly hopeless situation, how can one still live a meaningful life? People diagnosed with advanced cancer often experience what are known as 'contingent experiences,' or the realisation that things in life will turn out differently than planned. They ask themselves: Why me, and why now? What happens after death? And what will it be like when I die? Together with researchers from the Amsterdam UMC, University of Twente, ArtEZ University of the Arts and Radboud University, Russel investigated whether - and in what way - the art-educational method Art-Based Learning (ABL) can support people in palliative care in the process of finding meaning in their lives.

Interested in learning more about this research?  Silvia Russel discusses the process, key findings, and potential future studies in this interview available on artez.nl. Or download the article as pdf via the button below.

Download the publication here (PDF)