Healing Arts Chicago Summit
9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025
Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson Blvd.
Begin your summit day with a calming Sound Bath Meditation to relax, focus, and set your intentions. Immersive tones from crystal bowls and chimes will ease stress and open space for connection. Arrive early and let the sound prepare you for a day of inspiration and community.
For Chicago, By Chicago
The Healing Arts Chicago Summit opens with a collective call to reclaim and reimagine community care – by Chicagoans, for Chicagoans. Through stories, art, and cross-sector voices, we’ll explore care as both a creative and civic practice, shaping a definition that reflects our needs, our people, and our power.
- Dr. Olusimbo Ige, MD, MS, MPH, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH)
- Clinée Hedspeth, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)
- Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez, 33rd Ward Alderwoman
- Meida McNeal, PhD, DCASE
- Francisco Rodriguez, MA, PsyD, CDPH
- Gloria West, PhD, Malcolm X College
- Moderated by Erin Allen, Journalist
- Hosted by Pascale Ife Williams, PhD
This panel explores how artists, health workers, educators, and civic leaders are reshaping community care through collaboration. Together, they’ll discuss what systems Chicago must build or transform to embed care into its civic and public health infrastructure—designed for us, by us.
- Natalia Cuevas, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
- Shannon Harris, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
- Kaoru Watanabe, MS, RN
- Pascale Ife Williams, PhD
- Christian Zamarriego, MA, LCSW
- Moderated by Veronica Sek-Shubert, MPH
Boost your mood and lower stress in this fun workshop that combines the power of laughter with simple yoga moves. Discover how joyful movement and laughter can strengthen your body and mind for better overall wellness. Get ready to laugh, stretch, and feel great!
- Jewel Hale, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
Ground yourself with intentional breathwork and reconnect to your inner vision in this immersive workshop. Through guided breathing and visualization, you’ll release stress, gain clarity, and leave renewed with purpose and self-belief.
- Erica Marie Serrano, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
Tune In is a 45-minute sound bath meditation that helps you reconnect and restore inner balance. Through grounding prompts and immersive sounds, you’ll find space to relax, reflect, and tune in.
- Mecca Elevated, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
Ease into a judgement-free environment where you are encouraged to be free with your bodies. This workshop allows for enjoyment, stress release, presence, and community engagement.
- Leyda “Lady Sol” Garcia, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
Join the Chicago Windy City Ramblers, Manasseh, and Linda Sol for an hour of performance, hosted by Nile Lansana, Healing Arts Chicago Artist.
![Conversation Care [Re]Imagined: Prescribing Across Systems & Cultures](/content/dam/city/depts/dca/healing_arts/summit/2025/carereimagined.jpg)
Join a dynamic World Café discussion where artists, wellness workers, and community leaders explore creative, community-rooted approaches to care beyond clinical settings. Through rotating small-group conversations, participants will examine trust, safety, healing, and sustainable infrastructure to reimagine what care can look like. Together, we’ll uncover what’s working and how to build systems that truly support our communities.
- Moderated by John Zeigler
- Circle Stewards: Dan Kerr, Erica Marie Serrano, David Taylor, Sam Thousand, Kenneth “Spankey” Davis, Holiday Gerry, Kadijat Alaka and Sasha Ongtengco
![Workshop The Improv Clinic [Improv for Caregivers] with Arlieta Hall](/content/dam/city/depts/dca/healing_arts/summit/2025/improvclinic.jpg)
Laugh, create, and connect in this high-energy improv lab that sharpens your wit and teamwork skills. It’s fun, fast-paced, and great for boosting mental agility and confidence.
- Arlieta Hall
Join Once Upon A Pose, a lively workshop for children ages 4–8 (parents welcome!) where movement, storytelling, and art bring a classic fairytale to life. Kids will learn fun yoga poses while building listening skills and creativity—all in a playful, interactive setting!
- Jewel Hale, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
- Jelani West
Sonnets & Sonics blends the power of words with healing sound to help you reflect and reconnect. Join Nile Lansana and Mecca Elevated for a soulful journey of guided writing and restorative meditation.
- Nile Lansana, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
- Mecca Elevated, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
Join Shannon Harris of Audio Pharmacology™ with Lady Sol Garcia and Ytasha Womack for a powerful fusion of sound healing, mindful movement, and Afrofuturist storytelling. This immersive experience blends ancestral rhythms and expressive dance to activate your body, mind, and spirit – inviting you to move, listen, and heal together.
- Shannon Harris, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
- Leyda “Lady Sol” Garcia, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
- Ytasha Womack
Dr. Gloria West of Malcolm X College will honor the Healing Arts Chicago 2025 artist cohort. Following this, Healing Arts Chicago will announce details about the next cohort application cycle. The day will end with Erica Marie Serrano leading a collective visualization and breathwork practice to close the day with connection, reflection, and renewal.
- Gloria West, PhD, Malcolm X College
- Meida McNeal, PhD, DCASE
- Erica Marie Serrano, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
A collaborative mural project that promotes well being through a growth mindset and building community with local artists.
- Holiday Gerry, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
Join us in commemorating the Healing Arts Chicago cohort by learning the basics of screen printing on fabric and making your own canvas tote bag!
- Natalia Cuevas, Healing Arts Chicago Artist
Watch summit conversations come to life through live art. Share your reflections—What does community care look like to you?—by adding sticky notes or ideas to the artwork, and see our collective vision unfold.
- Kataya Balakina, Bright Ink
