18 May Community Coalition Presents Culture Cures: A Place of Hope and Healing
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and more than ever our community’s voices and stories need to be at the forefront of demanding equitable support and access to preventative resources that help heal. In an effort to help in the healing process, WE RISE includes Art Rise, a series of 21 art experiences. Art Rise is a series of 18 outdoor art installations and 3 special projects in 14 locations created in collaboration with museums, cultural institutions and artists. Each work in the series uses the power of art toward collective wellbeing, health and connectedness. Taking place across five neighborhoods (Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire, Leimert Park, South Central), the installations are meant to be viewed from a distance individually or in small groups, in order to remain COVID-safe while fostering community connection and collective healing.
Community Coalition (CoCo) partnered with WE RISE to create “Culture Cures/Cultura Cura,” which is an eight-day altar program that invites LA County residents to collectively heal, envision and construct an equitable future where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. The week-long event includes mental health and wellbeing activities like sound baths, yoga sessions, healing circles, and more.
See the ‘Culture Cures/Cura Cultura” Kickoff hosted on May 15, 2020
These Community Pop-Ups are taking place across Los Angeles County neighborhoods, in partnership with over 50 community groups, artists, grassroots leaders, healers and other LA County Departments. WE RISE highlights and supports the vital community-centered and civic work taking place in these neighborhoods. These projects and collaborations include mural making, ancestral healing workshops, a Countywide public literary art project and more to celebrate the remarkable resources and communities in LA County and use arts-based strategies for healing and wellbeing. Hyperlocal activities across Los Angeles County neighborhoods and a robust Digital Experience offer original programs that can be enjoyed from anywhere.
“The COVID-19 pandemic, its associated trauma and loss, economic hardship, and racial injustice continue to impact communities across LA County. BIPOC communities need to collectively heal from the trauma and social inequities exacerbated by COVID–including food insecurity, wealth inequality, and the digital divide. Art and connection is a way we can start to do that,” explains Glauz Diego, Director of Arts & Culture at Community Coalition.
WE RISE encourages wellbeing and healing through art, connection, community engagement and creative expression. An initiative of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, WE RISE 2021 is needed now more than ever as the region emerges from the isolation of the global pandemic and continues to grapple with related stressors and racial injustice. This is our opportunity to rise together.
No Comments