Our creative flow is our medicine. We are the voices of the voiceless, through art inspired moments, we are healed. I release, you release, we release!
The Art Inspired Healing Collective officially presents our Hip Hop & Healing SEL curriculum. What we've found most effective when speaking about social emotional intelligence and wellness, it's necessary to meet people where they are, and SEL isn't a curriculum that can be taught without it first being embedded into one's lifestyle. We all have an art form within us that has been specially created for our need to release, remain in the present moment, and truly express, and release our feelings and emotions. Populations of children that have historically been marginalized are in need of an experience that allows them to tap into this space within themselves.
Hip Hop & Healing takes socially and emotionally relevant albums that embody tracks to evoke feelings and discussions, pairing it with deep breathing exercises and discussion to create a safe space for teens to enjoy music, speak freely, and relax, relate, and release. Albums that have been featured include Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Prince's When Doves Cry, and now Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly.
Teens experience 6-7 songs from the featured album, and each lesson is built around the 12 Stages of Healing. Although each stage is introduced, teens are encouraged to build from the stage they are currently experiencing. As the teens create their art forms that represent their current state of reality, they embrace authenticity and vulnerability. These skills ultimately prepare them for the PH Balance Open Mic performance art component of the program. The community, friends and family are invited in celebration to support the voices of our youth curating an experience they will never forget, as well as an opportunity to move forward in self discovery.
