2026 Healing Arts Chicago: An Arts x Health x Wellness Summit
@ Malcolm X College
1900 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60612
Opening Saturday, October 10th, at 10:30AM
Returning to Malcolm X College, where Healing Arts Chicago artists receive their training and certification as community health workers, the annual summit will begin with remarks from city officials and a keynote address by Tricia Hersey, artist, activist, and founder of The Nap Ministry and the Rest Is Resistance framework.
Artist-led Workshops
Attendees will be able to attend workshops and activities led by:
Gideon Akande, Dinah Berkeley, Kenn Cook Jr., Natalia Cuevas, Crystle LiWayway Dino, Fettle, Joel Garcia, Leyda “Lady Sol” Garcia, Jewel Hale, Nashon Holloway, Sheeba Mays, Gloria I. Rivera, Pinqy Ring, Laura Sáenz, and Alyssa N. Villegas Rodriguez
Arts & Policy Sessions
Aligned with growing global and national trends exploring the impact of arts engagement as a preventative and rehabilitative measure for mental health, the 2026 summit highlights Chicago’s contributions to this growing field through sessions dedicated to research, policy, and advocacy.
Panels include:
- Artist-CHWs: The New Care Workforce: A two-part presentation and conversation sharing research findings on the impact of the first two years of the Healing Arts Chicago program and the evolution and implementation of the Artist-Community Health Worker (Artist-CHW) role. This conversation will feature Monique Delgado, MS, QMPH; artist Holiday Gerry; Nayeli Jimenez; and artist Mecca Perry. Moderated by Healing Arts Advisor Veronica Sek-Shubert, PhD.
- Mobilizing Healing Arts Infrastructure: Policy, Systems & Scale: A session exploring how international and U.S.-based policies are increasingly recognizing arts engagement as a vital strategy for strengthening mental health and community wellbeing. The session will examine effective strategies, implementation models, and opportunities for mobilizing arts in health work across diverse communities from around the globe. Panelists include CEO and Co Founder of arts and health consulting firm, Performance Hypothesis Marcel W. Foster, MPH; Chicago-based sculptor and mixed-media artist Sonja Henderson and Lund University (Sweden) professor Dr. Anita Jensen. The conversation will be moderated by interdisciplinary researcher, artist, and Healing Arts Chicago advisor, Dr. Alex Rodriguez.
Official Website
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Tags: GLORIA I RIVERA, 2026 Healing Arts Chicago: An Arts x Health x Wellness Summit, and Alyssa N. Villegas Rodriguez, Chicago, Crystle LiWayway Dino, Dinah Berkeley, Dr. Alex Rodriguez, Dr. Anita Jensen, Fettle, Gideon Akande, Holiday Gerry, Jewel Hale, Joel Garcia, Kenn Cook Jr., Laura Sáenz, Leyda "Lady Sol" Garcia, Malcolm X College, Marcel W. Foster, Mecca Perry, Monique Delgado, Nashon Holloway, Natalia Cuevas, Nayeli Jimenez, Pinqy Ring, Sheeba Mays, Sonja Henderson, Tricia Hersey, Veronica Sek-Shubert
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