Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts

Over the last 16 years, the Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts  has worked with arts and community groups to develop a multi-genre, multi-generational arts program. Over 3,000 people, from ages 3 to 92, have taken workshops in mosaic, murals, photography, movement, puppetry, creative writing, painting and lantern making. Working with teaching artists, learners installed 35 murals and over 60 other public art place makers in the Phillips neighborhood and beyond. We’ve taught in schools, community and senior centers, with block clubs, festivals and specific populations, such as homeless families and people with disabilities. Our literary magazine The Phoenix of Phillips (circulation of 6,000) publishes new and established neighborhood writers. 

Our mission expresses a deep belief in the power of art to transform people and communities: The Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts energizes youth and adults to use their creativity to build a healthier, safer and more beautiful community.

We intentionally have workshops with groups that work with underserved communities:

- At the Multiple Sclerosis Achievement Center, a teaching artist, supported by our trained youth artists, taught mosaics to people with MS and other disabilities.  Together, they created beautiful wall panels for their center.

- At Roosevelt High School (the most diverse in the city), teaching artists and writers worked with ESL and Health Career classes to reflect on their families’ journey and create art that embodies that.

- At Andersen K-8 School, artists worked with students in their Autism Spectrum Program to create mosaics that brighten the school’s entrance.

There is a welcome for everyone at Semilla!  Come and be transformed while being an agent of transformation!