Arts and Healing Blog Series

To spotlight changemakers in the Summit County community who connect the arts with wellness, ArtsNow curated a six-part blog series dubbed “Arts and Healing.”

Part 1: Nicole Robinson

In The Arts and Healing Blog, Part 1 of 6, guest blogger Nicole Robinson examines the positive impact the Northeast Ohio Healing Arts Alliance (NEOHAA) has on the community. Through collaboration, education, awareness, and advocacy, the NEOHAA promotes integrating the arts and expressive therapies into mental health treatment to eliminate barriers for consumers and practitioners. In this blog, you’ll also find additional information about music and art therapies in Ohio. Read more.

And Then This Happened, Collage on Paper by Lacy R. Vitko — *And Then This Happened*, Collage on Paper by Lacy R. Vitko

Part 2: Lacy R. Vitko, MA, ATR-BC

In The Arts and Healing Blog Part 2 of 6, guest blogger Lacy R. Vitko, MA, ATR-BC, looks into the many roles the arts have in healing at Community Support Services. From defining art therapy to explaining the personal struggles for those in the front lines of the COVID pandemic, Lacy explains why art therapy and art-making continue to be a resource for individuals struggling with severe and persistent mental illness. Read more.

Part 3: Nicole Topp, LPCC, ATR

In The Arts and Healing Blog Part 3 of 6, guest blogger Nicole Topp, LPCC, ATR, shares the many roles the arts have in healing as an Outpatient Counselor at Child Guidance & Family Solutions. She explains how art therapy is about the process, not the product. She then goes into the details of why art therapy is empowering children in our community when their life feels out of control, and how art is a way for children to feel in charge of something and be proud of what they accomplished. Read more.

Part 4: Samuel Hoskins

In The Arts and Healing Blog Part 4 of 6, guest blogger Samuel Hoskins, freelance artist and studio assistant at Akron ArtWorks, shares his deeply personal and moving experience with depression. It’s his authentic story of how the use of art has helped him to explore his sense of self and heal. The blog content and images address issues of gender dysphoria, suicidal ideation, self-harm, body horror, depression, transphobia and may be sensitive to certain audiences. Read more.

Part 5: Jeff Klemm

In The Arts and Healing Blog Part 5 of 6, guest blogger Jeff Klemm, a multi-talented performer, and educator, shares his incredible journal of sobriety, and how as an artist, his gift is not only to create but to teach others how to create as well. Now known by most area preschoolers as the incredible and a-bit-goofy “Mr. Jeff,” his theory is if his students see music lessons as fun (instead of a boring chore), they will keep that sentiment throughout their whole lives. Read more.

Part 6: Amber Cullen

In The Arts and Healing Blog Part 6 of 6, guest blogger Amber Cullen, a local changemaker who pursuing her graduate degree in Art Therapy, shares how the arts have always been an avenue of releasing negativity in her personal journey. She dives into her story of making art—and friends—that has the power to connect institutions to incredible work happening in our community. Read more.