Healing Arts Chicago with Gloria I. Rivera

Create, Reflect, Connect

My name is Gloria I. Rivera, and I offer creative wellness experiences through Healing Arts Chicago at the Chicago Department of Public Health Mental Health Center in Englewood.

These free offerings invite participants to use creativity as a tool for reflection, connection, and personal exploration. Whether you are joining for the first time, returning for another experience, or simply learning more, I am glad you are here.

Scroll down to view my upcoming offerings in Englewood and learn how to participate. Interested in exploring other Healing Arts Chicago experiences? You can also browse offerings happening throughout the city.

What is Healing Arts Chicago?

Healing Arts Chicago (HAC) is a citywide initiative that provides free creative wellness experiences for communities across Chicago.

Now in its second iteration, HAC brings together ten practitioners offering experiences throughout the Chicago Department of Public Health Mental Health Centers across the city. I am excited to be one of those practitioners, serving the Englewood location.

Upcoming Sessions

Creative experiences at the Englewood location will be announced soon!!

Summer Offerings

This summer, I am offering a variety of creative experiences through Healing Arts Chicago at the Englewood Mental Health Center. Each offering invites participants to engage with creativity in different ways while fostering reflection, exploration, and connection.

Pages Within | A visual journaling practice series

Explore creativity through visual journaling, collage, drawing, writing, and mixed media. Participants are invited to create personal journals that serve as spaces for reflection, exploration, and self expression. Whether you attend once, occasionally, or throughout the series, you are welcome. Participants who return can continue building upon their journals over time, creating a growing record of their thoughts, experiences, and creative explorations.

Third Space Creative Sessions | A community-centered creative experience

Gather, create, and connect. These sessions provide a welcoming space to explore creativity alongside others in the community. Each week, participants will have access to a different creative activity, offering opportunities to experiment with new materials, ideas, and processes. Participants are also welcome to bring their own creative projects to work on while sharing space with others. Whether you are trying something new, continuing a personal project, or simply looking for a creative space to spend time in community, all experience levels are welcome.

Curated Community Sessions | Creative experiences for organizations, volunteers, and community leaders

Creative experiences designed for the people doing the work of supporting and strengthening our communities. Sessions are developed in partnership with organizations, community groups, and volunteer-led initiatives, and can be adapted to support creativity, reflection, connection, and community care. See below for additional details about Curated Community Sessions and partnership opportunities.

Curated Community Sessions

Many of the people working to support our communities spend so much time caring for others that they rarely have opportunities to pause, reflect, create, and reconnect with themselves.

Curated Community Sessions are creative experiences designed primarily for the staff, volunteers, organizers, and leaders who help sustain our communities every day.

Sessions are grounded in art making and may draw from a variety of creative practices including visual journaling, collage, drawing, painting, and mixed media exploration. While each experience is arts-based at its core, sessions can be adapted to align with a group's interests, goals, and capacity.

Whether your team is looking for a moment to slow down, connect with one another, engage in creative exploration, or simply spend time together in a different way, I would be happy to discuss possibilities.

Priority consideration is given to local organizations and community-based groups, though all organizations are welcome to inquire.

Interested in bringing a Curated Community Session to your organization?

Stay Connected

You can also connect with me on Instagram to learn more about my work, creative offerings, and community projects.

Meet the Other Practitioner at Englewood

I am excited to share the Englewood location with fellow Healing Arts Chicago practitioner Dinah Berkeley (they/them).

While my offerings focus on visual art, journaling, collage, and creative exploration, Dinah's work draws from theatre, play, movement, and embodied creative practices.

Together, we offer community members multiple pathways to engage with creativity, connection, and wellness through the arts.

Offering free workshops centered around healing through laughter, gentle movement, and community connection.