CREATIVITY AS AN EXPRESSION OF PEACEMAKING | KAIROS GLOBAL | AUGUST 2026

Author: Dr Ginto Pottackal

Audio:https://open.spotify.com/episode/6GkLblkR8VGYlujt2cPavQ

Intro: Dr Ginto Pottackal writes of how artists have used the Way of Beauty to heal conflicts and unite divided communities. 

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9).

This Beatitude reveals the vocation of creative people. In a world deeply wounded by tension, division, and dispute, artists are called to be agents of peace. But how do we bridge such deep divisions in society? How do we heal communities that have been hurt for so long? Often, the answer lies not in endless debates or political treaties, but in the gift of human creativity and imagination. Creativity is a noble and God-given tool of peacemaking. It allows us to see the ‘other’ not as an enemy, but as a fellow human being made in the imago Dei (image of God). By using their gifts to bridge divides, artists actively participate in Christ’s ministry of reconciliation, transforming their creativity into a powerful expression of peacemaking. 

The Unifying Power of Beauty 

Artists around the world utilise the Via Pulchritudinis – the Way of Beauty – as a transformative instrument for peace. Artists have long used music, visual art, and storytelling to heal conflicts and unite divided communities.

The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra: Founded in 1999 by Argentine-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and the late Palestinian scholar Edward Said, this orchestra brings together young classical musicians from Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. By sitting together to master complex symphonies, the musicians get a chance to listen to one another, cooperate, and find harmony. It serves as a living model that creativity can bridge fierce political and national divides. 

Belfast Murals: For decades during ‘The Troubles,’ Belfast in Northern Ireland was highly divided by sectarian murals that celebrated disputes and battles. In the years following the Good Friday Agreement, communities began the ‘Re-Imaging Communities’, a programme to replace these aggressive symbols. Local artists worked closely with youth from both Republican and Loyalist neighbourhoods to paint over violent imagery with new murals celebrating the region’s shared history. 

The Parents Circle-Families Forum: This is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organisation made up of more than 600 families, all of whom have lost an immediate family member to the ongoing conflict. Their ‘Two Narratives’ project uses the raw power of storytelling. Members travel together to share their personal stories of loss and grief with schools and public audiences. By sharing their stories and the pain of losing a child, they achieve peace over violent revenge. 

These examples show that true art has the power to unite people easily. Without force or coercion, beautiful music or a captivating story attracts diverse people into a shared experience of peace. As St Hildegard of Bingen beautifully observed, ‘The soul is symphonic; music is part of the profound nature of the spirit, by which human beings can recall heavenly harmony.’

Just like a single instrument fits into a whole orchestra, the human soul is naturally wired to connect with other people. Ultimately, these different expressions of beauty invite us to contemplate the greater, heavenly harmony which binds humanity all together. 

In his Letter to Artists, Pope St John Paul II highlighted the famous words of Fyodor Dostoevsky: ‘Beauty will save the world.’  The Pope here emphasised that God uses beauty to spark wonder and protect humanity from falling into cynicism and despair. Decades earlier, Pope St Paul VI shared this exact vision in his address to artists: ‘This world in which we live needs beauty in order not to sink into despair. Beauty, like truth, brings joy to the human heart, and is that precious fruit which resists the erosion of time, which unites generations and enables them to be one in admiration. And all this through the work of your hands . . . Remember that you are the custodians of beauty in the world.’

A Bridge Across Divides in the Church 

Art has played a vital role during times of spiritual crisis as well. Historically, the Catholic Church has utilised art as a bridge for truth and reconciliation during times of severe conflict. During the Protestant Reformation, when Martin Luther's theological critiques fractured European Christianity, the Catholic Church responded not merely with theological arguments, but through the Way of Beauty. In fact, this Catholic Counter-Reformation gave birth to the Baroque movement. 

Rather than relying solely on arguments to defend the sacraments, the Church commissioned artists like Caravaggio and Bernini to re-engage the faithful and combat Protestant teachings. They painted the sacramental reality of God's grace through realistic and highly emotional artworks. Their art visually re-established the core doctrines of the Church by appealing to the heart, drawing wandering souls back to the faith through beauty. It was an aesthetic peace-making and defending the truth through creativity. 

Patience, Suffering, and Healing 

In our modern age, however, we often demand immediate solutions to the crises that torment us. But healing cannot be rushed, and God's plan unfolds in His own time. The way of Beauty teaches us the spiritual discipline of patience. We know that a masterpiece is not created in a 

hurry. It requires agonising waiting, slow cultivation, and steady effort. In the same way, the long-lasting movements of peace and reconciliation arise from a slow, steady journey. 

Additionally, art has the unique ability to honour human suffering. When artists truthfully capture the brokenness of the world through a melody or a memoir, they create a space where healing can begin – a healing that comes directly from Jesus Himself, who is the Supreme Beauty. As 

we read in the Via Pulchritudinis, ‘He manifests Himself from Tabor to the Cross, shedding light on the mystery of man, disfigured by sin, but purified and recreated by Redeeming Love. Jesus is not a path among others, a truth among others, a beauty among others… Supreme beauty, splendour of the Truth, Jesus is the source of all beauty because, Word of God made flesh, He is the manifestation of the Father.’

Contemplation: An Antidote to Restlessness 

Jesus promised His disciples, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you’ (John 14:27). In the modern world, peace is often misunderstood as merely a temporary absence of conflict. However, the peace offered by Christ is totally different. It is not a peripheral comfort, but it is an everlasting reality that the world cannot fully comprehend – a peace that endures even amidst the storm. 

True art demands a pause. It breaks the frantic rhythm of our daily lives. As the philosopher Blaise Pascal noted, ‘All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.’ In fact, the restlessness of the contemporary world is fundamentally rooted in the absence of God. St Augustine diagnosed the human condition perfectly: ‘You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.’ A beautiful painting, a sacred poem, or an iconic film invites the viewer to stop, sit peacefully, and reflect. Through this aesthetic meditation, artists invite the world into a quiet communion with Jesus, the Prince of Peace. 

The Wellspring of Peace: Custody of the Heart 

Before an artist can bring peace to the world, they must first possess it. The Holy Spirit is a gentle, peaceful presence, and true sacred art overflows from an interior communion with God. The prophet Isaiah reminds us, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength’ (Isaiah 30:15). This requires what the Desert Fathers called ‘custody of the heart’ – a protective vigilance over one's interior life. As St Seraphim of Sarov famously observed: ‘Acquire inner peace, and a multitude will find their salvation near you.’ When a composer writes a hymn or a painter finishes a canvas under divine providence, the artwork itself becomes a channel of peace. It radiates the artist's inner stillness outward to a multitude, offering a restless society a taste of divine peace. 

‘We need you’ 

The Church needs artists. ‘We need you,’ Pope St John Paul II adds, ‘We need your collaboration in order to carry out our ministry.’ Every brushstroke, every composed measure, and every written word holds the potential to participate in the healing mission of Jesus. By cultivating inner peace through the Holy Spirit, the Christian artist offers the world a refuge. Through art, music, and storytelling, creators do more than decorate the world; they mend it, serving as joyful instruments of God's reconciling love.

Dr Ginto Pottackal is a visual artist with a deep passion for sacred art, embracing it as a divine vocation. Having spent 15 years in the United States, he now resides in Kerala, where he actively pursues his artistic calling and supports the JY Campus Ministry. A statistician by profession, he currently serves as a Manager at GSK. He is married to Deepa Jose, and together they are blessed with five children.