La Práctica artística como territorio de bienestar

Abstract

This research examines the transformative potential of Visual Arts in higher education and explores how artistic practice can constitute a space for emotional expression and student well-being. The study was conducted with 20 undergraduate students at a university in Puerto Montt, Los Lagos Region, Chile. The research was initially conceived within a qualitative-phenomenological framework but evolved toward an Arts-Based Research (ABR) and Research-Creation approach upon recognizing that artistic and iconographic processes constituted the primary avenue of inquiry. A ten-session Visual Arts Workshop was implemented, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews, complemented by the DASS-21 questionnaire and analysis of pictorial, photographic, and iconographic records. Findings indicate that artistic practice functions as a symbolic territory, fostering emotional expression, self-knowledge, and the construction of community among peers. Participants describe the workshop as a safe space that contrasts sharply with the evaluative logics of the academic environment, thereby contributing to the management of stress and anxiety inherent to university life. This research provides evidence from a peripheral regional setting, which is often left out of discussions on artistic research in higher education, and advocates for the integration of artistic practices as a strategy for student well-being.