Healing Through Art with Brit Chida

·1 hr 1 min·2 clips

I started making art when I was 30, just after my doctorate, and it became a way to process trauma and offer my community gifts of resilience.

Sari Shryack interviews artist Brit Chida about their abstract diagram art and its role in healing and community building. Brit is a Eugene-based artist whose work combines text and abstraction to map emotions and personal experiences. Their art emerged from a need for personal processing during a period of post-trauma recovery and physical illness. Brit initially pursued art at age 30 as a non-serious hobby while working as a physical therapist. They describe their signature "abstract diagrams" as labeled artworks inspired by graphs, infographics, and meme formats. Brit's practice grew organically, with sales beginning in 2018-19 after audience requests, leading to a full-time art career with their wife's support. The artist operated anonymously online for five years, not showing their face or voice, to maintain safety and separation between their internet and real life. A pivotal shift occurred when Brit created a diagram contrasting "safe" versus "safe enough," symbolizing their decision to gradually share more personally. Their work predates the broader cultural "mental health movement" and resonated with people who felt isolated in their struggles. Brit's audience has grown primarily through word-of-mouth, avoiding viral spikes to maintain a respectful community vibe. They spend hours weekly replying to DMs and comments, fostering what they call "stranger friends" rather than viewing followers as metrics. The conversation explores the tension between vulnerability and safety, especially for queer and trans communities. Brit emphasizes that their economic stability as a physical therapist allowed them to develop their art practice without financial pressure. They critique the commodification of emotions and relationships online, advocating for boundaries and authentic interaction. Sari connects this to reclaiming "professionalism" as setting humane boundaries rather than performing constant emotional labor. The tone is warm, conversational, and reflective, with both hosts sharing personal experiences around online presence. Listeners interested in art as a tool for emotional processing, community-focused social media, and gentle entrepreneurship will find value. Those seeking highly technical art instruction or skeptical of "healing" narratives might prefer other episodes.

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