Arsht Center’s Free Art and Mind Day An Invitation To Well Being

A group learns the beats at a drumming workshop during the 2024 Art & Mind Day at the Adrienne Arsht Center. This year’s free arts wellness day is Sunday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Photo by Taylor Brown, courtesy of the Arsht Center)

Dance to relax in a silent disco, create a piece of art that ends up in a massive community mural, or take part in a drumming workshop.

The Adrienne Arsht Center presents its Art & Mind Day on Sunday, May 18 indoors at both the Arsht Center’s Ziff Ballet Opera House and Knight Concert Hall. Created to highlight the therapeutic side of arts, the all-day event is free to attend.

“Whether you’re dancing, making music, discovering a new artistic skill, trying a new recipe, or enjoying a performance, Art & Mind Day is all about nourishing your mental and physical wellness while having fun,” says Lakesha Frith, the Arsht Center’s director of education.

A toddler explores her creative side at Art & Mind Day at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (Photo by Taylor Brown, courtesy of the Arsht Center)

The festival-style event, which was started in 2023, is filled with experiential activities that are meant to nurture the mind, body and soul, according to Frith. She added that the day was created in collaboration with licensed arts therapists and in line with studies that show that participating in creative activities can help improve happiness and health.

From early childhood through teen years, arts education has positive impacts in social and emotional health, according to the National Endowment for the Arts, which, through studies, found that the benefits for health and well-being through the arts promote well-being and resilience. For older adults, more participation in the arts and arts activities has been linked to positive health outcomes, according to the NEA.

[See the schedule of events here.]

“Art & Mind Day is also a way to get the Miami community connected to each other and to their own well-being through creativity,” says Frith, adding that the Arsht Center collaborated with drama therapists, visual art therapists and music therapists to integrate wellness through the arts into every aspect of Art & Mind Day.

Sound Off Silent Disco returns to the stage of the Arsht Center for this year’s Art & Mind Day. (Photo by Sergi Alexander/Eyeworks Production, courtesy of the Arsht Center)

One of the highlights is the Interactive Drumming Experience with Miamibloco, Miami’s Bateria Saideira Samba percussion orchestra.

“In Miamibloco classes, and in our performance group Bateria Saideira, we bear witness that drumming together transforms individuals and groups alike, harmonizing mind, body, and spirit, and reminds us that we are all part of a greater collective heartbeat of Miami,” says SuOm U. Francis, co-founder and creative director of Miamibloco.

Francis points out that group drumming across cultures has been shown to boost mood, lower anxiety, and build community due to its supportive environment where “everyone’s contribution matters.”

He adds that, “playing, clapping, and dancing is all part of a singular experience – no experience required. Art & Mind Day is proof that when we make music together, we reduce stress, build real connections, and celebrate the cultures that make Miami unique.”

Getting creative at Art & Mind Day 2024 at the Arsht Center. This year, a collective collage will be the result of one of the free workshops. (Photo by Sergi Alexander/Eyeworks Production, courtesy of the Arsht Center)

There is also a drumming workshop by San Juan USA where the connective energy and healing power of Afro-Venezuelan drumming is realized through learning rhythmic patterns and percussion techniques.

Afro-Caribbean movement is at the center of the Yoga and Movement Workshop with KR8TIVE Yoga, there’s music therapy sessions for kids by Wholesome Harmonies and music, dance and storytelling with The Treehouse Shakers where children ages 3 to 6 interact with inhabitants of The Littlest Cove.

Interactive art includes hands-on arts therapy, an immersive art installation and a collective art-making project where participants create a collage square that will be woven into a collective artwork that celebrates shared stories and creativity.

Different arts therapists will be on hand to share techniques that bring about calm. (Photo by Taylor Brown, courtesy of the Arsht Center)

A community marketplace will feature an array of cultural, health and wellness organizations and artists along with live cooking demonstrations.

“Miami is home to many talented local artists who are deeply connected to our community. With Art & Mind Day, the Arsht Center is dedicated to bringing our community together through the transformational power of the arts,” says Frith.

WHAT: Art & Mind Day 2025

WHERE: Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, May 18

COST: Free but RSVP online.

INFORMATION: (305) 949-6722 and www.arshtcenter.org

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