I often find myself saying that River Arts is a community center that uses art as the tool to bring people together. Creative expression allows our minds to become quiet and our brain to rewire and repair. It can be so rewarding to find dedicated time and community space where prompts are given and time for reflection is encouraged. River Arts is looking to expand our offerings to include regular opportunities for healing and connection this winter. Stay tuned for classes like a monthly Mediate and Create class with Megan Bisbee and a Slow Stitch Series series with Martha Dunbar. As we work toward this intentional and regular healing arts initiative, we are excited to help promote a free online healing arts group organized by our partner organization, SafeArt. Join a safe virtual space to express yourself and make new connections.

-Lisa Wolfgang

Resiliency Building thru Creative Expression
This group meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM on Zoom
Free to Participants!

In this healing arts program we will be inviting engagement in creative expression and community connection to support you in these stressful times.

We will be creating a safe container for "doing the work," using visual arts, nature exploration, journaling, music, movement, and building resiliency practices to facilitate healing.

This group is open to women, femme identified and trans folks who have been impacted by trauma, stress, or the challenges of life.

We define trauma as any injury to body, mind, or soul. This can include illness, depression, abuse, anxiety, etc.

Register by email or phone - info@safeart.org or 802-685-3138

Founded in 2000, SafeArt is a community-based organization that engages creativity and the expressive arts as tools to support mental health and overall well-being, uniting the mind, body, and spirit. We offer residencies, workshops, closed groups, private sessions and classes in the expressive arts for children, teens, and adults. SafeArt’s Healing Arts for Adults programming works with femme-identified folks who have experienced trauma and other challenges in their lives. We support their desire to heal by providing a safe, supportive space to explore challenging issues related to abuse, identity, addiction, illness, and self-worth. Through the Youth Wellbeing Project we partner with K-12 teachers, counselors, and youth-serving organizations to integrate expressive arts, mindfulness, and empowerment activities into their curriculum and programming.  

We define trauma as any held wound in body, mind, and soul. As the organization has matured, we have witnessed the healing power of creative expression as beneficial for all, and have added offerings to the broader community in addition to our trauma-focused programs. All of our programming continues to be inclusive of everyone, trauma-informed, and trauma-responsive.

By trauma-informed we mean that practitioners have been trained in the impacts of trauma and strategies to support survivors in building resources and resilience. By trauma-responsive, we mean that SafeArt programs are intentionally designed to meet the needs of trauma survivors. Of course in order to do this work well, we must all work to be more trauma-sensitive by growing our emotional intelligence, patience and empathy as human beings. This is our life-long work.