Welcome
What does healing look like to you? What is a change you would like to see in the world? Share your answers via artwork and messages.
Everyone is welcome to participate!
The Interactive Healing Arts Project (HAP) is a collaborative initiative that explores local and global art as a medium for healing in community. While the artwork and reflections are shared online to ensure widespread accessibility, HAP was also imagined as a treasure hunt for 'healing' artworks that would be displayed in the windows of participating businesses in downtown districts, and in any participating neighborhoods.
While visiting this website, we kindly invite you to slow down, and to take the time to reflect on the artwork and the messages from community members and students of all ages. Thank you for being here.
The Interactive Healing Arts Project is supported, in part, by grants from the City of Davis Arts & Cultural Affairs program, the non-profit 4.0 Schools, and the VELA Education Fund.
What is a change you’d like to see in the world right now?
A change I’d like to see? Money based on love. - David A.
Congratulations, Simon Santos: Nominated for Best Student Director, Best Student Short, & Best Supporting Actress (Michelle DeMoss) at Indie Short Fest!
Self-Worth
2020
12 minutes
rated PG
Synopsis: Eli aspires for a big film studio internship. Faced with floods of rejections, he questions his self-worth, and what "success" really means.
Simon Santos is a Filipino-American actor, filmmaker, and UC Davis graduate. Read his full biography below, in the team members' section.
Artwork
*community participation* indicates contribution from the (local and at-large) community, to differentiate from professional artists.
CECILIA LOPEZ
Home
2020
Gouache on cold press paper
Cecilia Lopez is a UC Davis 2017 graduate, and an artist based San Fernando Valley, CA.
She mainly works with watercolor and gouache, and likes to create work that is personal and that reminds her of home and community. The ocean and the mountains help her feel grounded and at home. After losing her father, these two elements help her feel at home and bring her peace in difficult times.
Words of Encouragement
No matter how hard life gets, keep fighting! Your blessing is a step away! — Anthony D.
Meet The Team
NJ Mvondo
Creator and web developer of the Interactive Healing Arts Project, NJ Mvondo is a writer, an artist and community organizer based in Davis, CA, where she advocates for diversity, equity and literacy via various platforms. She is the owner of Multiculturalism Rocks!, and the founder of the non-profit Multicultural Families Rock.
Katrina Laws-Ewald
Katrina is a book-obsessed Youth Services Librarian at the Yolo County Library Mary L. Stephens Branch. She endeavors to collect all the world’s words, knowledge, and stories. When asked, she uses her librarian superpowers to fight for social justice with NJ or her library JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) Team.
Simon Santos
Filipino-American filmmaker and actor, Simon Santos, uses film for empowerment and social change. He works toward a future with more Asian-American stories and representation in entertainment. His unreleased and latest short, “Self-Worth”, is available for viewing through the Davis Healing Art Project.
Anuj Larvaidya
Anuj is a teacher/student of performance/media and multispecies thinking, currently living in California. He is invested in art as a vehicle for challenging normativity, cultivating joy, and building community - with both the human and more-than-human worlds around us.
Berenice Cayetano
Berenice Cayetano is a first generation hispanic grad student from UC Davis who majored in Design and a minor in art history. She is currently a freelancer helping non-profit organizations and local/small businesses with any possible design needs. She wants her art to make a difference by helping others and inspiring them to continuously work hard and to never give up on following their dreams. ✨
David Abramson
David Abramson grew up in Davis, CA and is here to support healing in his hometown. Beyond being a web designer for the Healing Art Project, he is an artist, musician, and teacher/lifelong learner. If you want to work with David on any creative projects, you can email him at david@makeyourselfvisible.com.
Laurel Brittan
A jack of all trades, Laurel Brittan is known as a marine biologist, scientific diver, veterinary nurse and behaviorist, trauma counselor, body worker, actor, artist, activist, arborist, and wolf walker. Art, conversation, and the written word are her powerful bridging devices to connecting and learning. She wonders how this Healing Arts Project will evolve our collective spaces.
Thanking our Sponsors & Supporters
For sponsorship opportunities, see our donations page.
To visit our participating businesses (in-person and online: take outs, online shipping, services and programs), check out the Art Finder page!