Green Art in Egyptian Visual Art as Approach to Mental and Physical Health: Nubian Art as Example

• Published in: The international journal of arts education 2015, Vol.9 (3-4), p.11-32
• Main Authors: Kassem, Walaa, Adel Hassan, Dina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: High School Students; Physical Health; Public Schools; Social Responsibility
• ISSN: 2326-9944; 2327-0306
• DOI: 10.18848/2326-9944/CGP/v09i3-4/11-32

Green artists are mindful of the consequences of their actions and their effects on the environment. They use safe, healthy, raw, or recycled materials and tools to produce sustainable works. Through the use of symbols, concepts, and sometimes color, they maximize the role of the arts in the environment and help maintain the physical and mental health of the individual. Nubian art, an example of primitive and green art, utilizes local concepts to contribute to daily social life and lifestyle balance, creatively using raw materials, tools, and sustainable techniques to improve the mental and physical health of artists, to enhance social responsibility, and to comment on social, cultural, and environmental issues. This paper addresses the general concept of green art and also discusses the role green art played in an art workshop that aimed to raise environmental awareness and inspired Nubian art as an approach to balance everyday mental and physical health among high school students in a public school in Alexandria, Egypt.