DCASE Homepage  >  Healing Art Chicago  >  Call for Artists

The application for the next cohort of Healing Arts Chicago Artists is now open. For reference information, consult the Guidelines. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, October 1, 2025, at 5 p.m. CT.

Join us for an information session to learn more about the application process.

Tuesday, September 9, 2025 | Noon - 1p.m. | Zoom Webinar | Register online | This session will be recorded and posted online.

Thursday, September 18, 2025 | 6 - 7 p.m. | Zoom Webinar | Register online | This session will be recorded and posted online.

TBD | In-Person at Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson Blvd.

If you are an individual with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to attend an information session, please contact CulturalResources@CityofChicago.org at least two (2) business days before the session for assistance.

Healing Arts Chicago (HAC) is a program of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) in partnership with the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) and City Colleges of Chicago. The program offers free arts services to support mental health and wellness at the City of Chicago’s Mental Health Centers throughout the year. It positions the healing arts as a vital, community-centered tool in substance use recovery, harm reduction, and mental health.

The program explores career pathways for artists centered in healing modalities and trauma-informed care through training, certification, and artist apprenticeships. Selected artists will be trained as community health workers to offer creative wellness strategies to clients served at the City’s seven mental health clinics, as well as to provide arts services in community contexts, leading outreach and engagement activities consistent with those provided by other CDPH community health workers. CDPH mental health clinic sites include:

• Englewood West 63rd Street Health Hub
• Bronzeville East 43rd Street Health Hub
• Greater Lawn West 55th Street Health Hub
• Lawndale South Western Avenue Health Clinic
• North Park North Pulaski Health Clinic
• Pilsen South Ashland Health Hub
• Roseland East 115th Street Health Hub

Priority will go to artists from and/or with existing community connections to the neighborhoods that the City’s mental health clinics serve.

HAC supports continued recovery from the social, economic, and health impacts of the pandemic by creating job opportunities for creative workers, integrating the arts into the healthcare delivery system, and promoting overall community health and wellness using arts focused strategies. This program builds partnerships between city agencies, community health centers, local artists, and communities.

Artists must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for the program:

• Be a resident of the City of Chicago, Illinois with a valid street address (no PO boxes).
• Be at least 18 years old.
• Demonstrate evidence of a high school degree, GED, or comparable.
• Be a US Citizen, due to requirements of part of the program funding.
• Include an artist resume/CV with at least two years of professional experience as an arts maker, educator, and/or facilitator.
• Have or be able to secure general liability insurance at the time of contracting.

Current City of Chicago employees are not eligible to apply. Employees of sister agencies are eligible, but must comply with their own agency’s ethics policies.

(Subject to change)