Project Jericho’s ‘Beyond Well-Being’ to feature series on arts and health

Project Jericho will host Beyond Well-Being, a two-part series on how arts-based practices give way to connection, healing, and hope for youth and those who serve them.

The virtual event is from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and will serve as the precursor to the Beyond Well-Being in-person event slated for May 26, according to Clark State College.

Project Jericho is a collaborative initiative of the Clark State College and Job and Family Services of Clark County, with support from The Turner Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council.

“Beyond Well Being was created for organizations and individuals who provide services to youth in Clark County,” said Kristi Limes, Project Jericho Success Coordinator, in a press release. “Beyond Well Being is for anyone who needs encouragement and reminded of why we all began this work with youth in the first place.”

Beyond Well-Being will feature Dr. Tasha Golden, director of Research at the International Arts and Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins Medicine, and a national leader in arts and public health. She studies impacts of arts and culture, music, aesthetics, and social norms on well-being, health research, and professional practice.

Golden has served as an advisor on several national health initiatives, and is adjunct faculty for the University of Florida’s Center for Arts in Medicine. She is leading the pilot evaluation of CultureRx in Massachusetts. Golden is also a career artist and entrepreneur. As singer-songwriter for the band Ellery, she toured full-time in the country and abroad.

She has also taught for Project Jericho as a lead teaching artist for family and youth programs since 2013.

Lauren Houser, director of Project Jericho, said the community has requested several times for help in recreating the energy and creativity that Project Jericho programming yields, as well as the brave and safe spaces that Project Jericho is able to build for and with youth.

“No one can pour from an empty cup, so our hope is that these two events fill peoples’ cups and propel them forward to continue their significant and essential work,” said Houser. “At Project Jericho, we have a unique vantage point on life’s challenges and tragedies because we get to view them through the lens of the arts. Daily, we utilize the arts to heal, connect, and equip us and it makes a world of difference. We want to invite others to join in that experience and reality.”

Those interested in joining Project Jericho and Golden for a virtual conversation about youth needs, assets, and mental health and more can register here.

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