María Luisa Belmonte, Ana Belén Martínez Blázquez, María Dolores López Martínez
Artistic training within associations for individuals with functional diversity represents a crucial pathway for personal development, inclusion, and empowerment. At present, various artistic approaches coexist, all aimed at promoting accessibility, active participation, and the recognition of diversity as a social value. From this premise, the present study examines artistic activities as a means of social inclusion, considering gender and the roles carried out by professionals from different associations for people with intellectual disabilities in the Region of Murcia, as well as their perspectives on the influence of these artistic activities on the social inclusion of individuals with intellectual disabilities. An exploratory, mixed-methods, cross-sectional research design was implemented. The findings show that professionals describe art and artistic activities as a resource that simultaneously fosters personal, social, and functional development, thereby constituting a meaningful pathway toward full inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities—provided that such practices are reflective, inclusive, and intentional, despite the limited transfer of knowledge and dissemination of artistic projects undertaken in these associations. Overall, the study concludes that art should be regarded not merely as a therapeutic or recreational tool, but as a legitimate instrument of social justice, participation, and the recognition of difference.