Art and Healing in the Moment, Free Exhibition click for more information

Healing Circle: Conflict Resolution and Peace

July 20, 2018, at 6pm

In conjunction with the “Art and Healing” exhibition, Mia is co-hosting a series of workshops and discussions with artists and facilitators to open up opportunities for dialogue and allow visitors to creatively engage around important issues of injustice and healing. Some conversations are intended to offer strategies for self-care and healing; some are geared toward supporting learning, growth, and understanding around racial justice; and some are designed for visitors to come together to explore art as a powerful vehicle for addressing injustice and a tool for community healing.

Led by David Carson and Connie Rhodes, this circle will draw upon indigenous and African cultural practices to create a space for authentic discussion, conflict resolution, and peace. The facilitators—Carson as a first responder EMT/firefighter, and Rhodes as a mother of five Black boys—bring their personal experience to lead a discussion on the impact that violence has had on all of us. Participants will be asked to stay the whole time (90 minutes) to complete the healing circles process.

Free; advance rsvp requested to artandhealing@artsmia.org.

About the Facilitators

David Carson, founder of Cause & Effect, is a product of the inner-city streets. Overcoming chemical abuse, abandoning criminal activity, and cutting ties with negative influences, Carson has since enjoyed a healthy lifestyle and a newly developed passion to use his experience to touch and enrich the lives of others. Carson has established a successful career in social services and has become a positive influence in the lives of many youth and young fathers in the metro area. He created Cause & Effect with a passion to empower and strengthen the minds of urban youth who are at risk of becoming entrenched in the criminal justice system.

Constance Rhodes is the founder and executive director of Restoration Incorporated, a faith-based human service agency. Rhodes is a graduate of the University of Chicago with a concentration in behavioral sciences and psychology. Her vast experience in the social service arena spans over 20 years, from her college days helping at-risk youth to her 16 years at BUILD Inc., working in some of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods. At BUILD, she co-authored a violence prevention and intervention and reentry curriculum that is used nationally to impact the lives of youth. She has trained government agencies, including the Minneapolis Health Department, Chicago Police Department, and the Illinois Center for Violence Prevention, and youth work practitioners. She founded Becoming Women, a gender-specific girls’ leadership council that addresses teen dating violence. Rhodes has received awards from the Cook County Probation Department for her work with young women. She has hosted parent workshops and youth seminars throughout Chicago and Minneapolis.