Can making art or looking at art help us to better understand our fears, challenges and have an impact on life choices? This summer, the Jamaal Eversley-curated “Eversley & Friends: Bold & Beautiful” allows us to understand the role of the arts in healing processes.

As a young boy, Eversley was criticized for not coloring inside the lines. As a young adult, he became a multidisciplinary artist. His mission is to inspire others, spread love and boost people’s self-esteem. Eversley’s artwork is layered with messages of peace, empathy, compassion, friendship and cooperation. Influenced by the West Indian island of Barbados, his work presents lively and bold colors, abundant creativity, good vibes and unapologetic love – Eversley’s main brand.

In elementary school, Eversley was teased and associated with “Steve Urkel,” a made-up sitcom character, the quintessence of a geek or nerd. Today, we recognize bullying as a systematized abuse of power that can be expressed through different types of violence, such as physical, verbaland social exclusion. Although more openly dealt with, this type of behavior still causes much suffering and sweeping effects on young people, yet presenting challenges for individuals, families, schools, professionals, researchers and policy makers.