Abstract
This community/arts based participatory research project encompassed communal art making practices (art as therapy) to build community, heal and resist systemic oppression and community violence; as well as promote self-care, empowerment, and a sense of purpose. Participants engaged in community-based art therapy to build and heal communities impacted by gun violence; using an ecological model. This \"Doll Project\" developed as a grassroots approach to arts-based social change, an ongoing cycle of creation, reflection and action with the hope to create a wave of healing and understanding through impacted Chicago communities. This process was intended to engage communities and embody the use of creativity to shift power and flatten hierarchies, largely by building up leadership of those most impacted by violence. The art of doll making was used to memorialize victims of gun violence in the city in record high years of murders, while simultaneously creating a memorial of resistance, initiating community-based adaptive change practices for social equity, connection, and liberation. This project challenges the social norms of gun violence and examines the structures, policies and systems of oppression, racism, economic and cultural neglect that have created the tensions and violence caused within these largely isolated marginalized urban communities.
","abstract_html":"<p>Abstract</p> <p>This community/arts based participatory research project encompassed communal art making practices (art as therapy) to build community, heal and resist systemic oppression and community violence; as well as promote self-care, empowerment, and a sense of purpose. Participants engaged in community-based art therapy to build and heal communities impacted by gun violence; using an ecological model. This "Doll Project" developed as a grassroots approach to arts-based social change, an ongoing cycle of creation, reflection and action with the hope to create a wave of healing and understanding through impacted Chicago communities. This process was intended to engage communities and embody the use of creativity to shift power and flatten hierarchies, largely by building up leadership of those most impacted by violence. The art of doll making was used to memorialize victims of gun violence in the city in record high years of murders, while simultaneously creating a memorial of resistance, initiating community-based adaptive change practices for social equity, connection, and liberation. This project challenges the social norms of gun violence and examines the structures, policies and systems of oppression, racism, economic and cultural neglect that have created the tensions and violence caused within these largely isolated marginalized urban communities.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Royster, Rochele A, 5453127"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Community Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Bradley Olson","Tiffeny Jimenez","Judah Viola"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:32Z","subjects":["art therapy","liberation art therapy","memorials","art as activism","community arts","gun violence","Art Practice","Community Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/244","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Bradley Olson","Tiffeny Jimenez","Judah Viola"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Royster, Rochele A, 5453127"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-08-08T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Community Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["art therapy","liberation art therapy","memorials","art as activism","community arts","gun violence","Art Practice","Community Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/244"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Abstract
This community/arts based participatory research project encompassed communal art making practices (art as therapy) to build community, heal and resist systemic oppression and community violence; as well as promote self-care, empowerment, and a sense of purpose. Participants engaged in community-based art therapy to build and heal communities impacted by gun violence; using an ecological model. This \"Doll Project\" developed as a grassroots approach to arts-based social change, an ongoing cycle of creation, reflection and action with the hope to create a wave of healing and understanding through impacted Chicago communities. This process was intended to engage communities and embody the use of creativity to shift power and flatten hierarchies, largely by building up leadership of those most impacted by violence. The art of doll making was used to memorialize victims of gun violence in the city in record high years of murders, while simultaneously creating a memorial of resistance, initiating community-based adaptive change practices for social equity, connection, and liberation. This project challenges the social norms of gun violence and examines the structures, policies and systems of oppression, racism, economic and cultural neglect that have created the tensions and violence caused within these largely isolated marginalized urban communities.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Doll Project As A Liberatory Art Intervention For Conscious Raising And Trauma Relief In A Chicago Marked By Violence"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Bradley Olson","Tiffeny Jimenez","Judah Viola"],"dc:creator":["Royster, Rochele A, 5453127"],"dc:date.available":["2017-08-08T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Abstract
This community/arts based participatory research project encompassed communal art making practices (art as therapy) to build community, heal and resist systemic oppression and community violence; as well as promote self-care, empowerment, and a sense of purpose. Participants engaged in community-based art therapy to build and heal communities impacted by gun violence; using an ecological model. This \"Doll Project\" developed as a grassroots approach to arts-based social change, an ongoing cycle of creation, reflection and action with the hope to create a wave of healing and understanding through impacted Chicago communities. This process was intended to engage communities and embody the use of creativity to shift power and flatten hierarchies, largely by building up leadership of those most impacted by violence. The art of doll making was used to memorialize victims of gun violence in the city in record high years of murders, while simultaneously creating a memorial of resistance, initiating community-based adaptive change practices for social equity, connection, and liberation. This project challenges the social norms of gun violence and examines the structures, policies and systems of oppression, racism, economic and cultural neglect that have created the tensions and violence caused within these largely isolated marginalized urban communities.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/244"],"dc:subject":["art therapy","liberation art therapy","memorials","art as activism","community arts","gun violence","Art Practice","Community Psychology"],"dc:title":["The Doll Project As A Liberatory Art Intervention For Conscious Raising And Trauma Relief In A Chicago Marked By Violence"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Community Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:32Z"}