Arts Disaster and Crisis Preparedness Conference 2026

This train-the-trainer workshop introduces participatory arts practices that strengthen social capital, connection and organizational well-being. Participants will learn how to facilitate accessible arts-based experiences that help build caring relationships and community within organizations. Arts-based experiences can help organizations strengthen the relational conditions that support well-being, collaboration, and community connection, especially in environments experiencing stress or rapid change.


This train-the-trainer workshop introduces the Arts for Well-Being (AWiAM) framework, a participatory arts approach originally developed within academic medicine to strengthen social capital, connection, and organizational well-being. Complex workplaces and communities are shaped not only by systems and structures, but also by the quality of the human relationships that exist within them. Everyday interactions—how people listen, respond, offer support, and collaborate—gradually build social capital: the trust, familiarity, and relational strength that allow individuals and teams to work effectively together. Participatory arts practices create accessible opportunities for individuals to pause, reflect, and engage with one another in ways that make relationship-building visible within everyday
environments. These experiences are intentionally designed to support individual wellness while strengthening a community of honor and connection, an essential component of organizational well-being.


During the workshop, participants will experience a series of arts-based practices that use visual exploration, creative reflection, storytelling, movement, and engagement with shared spaces to support dialogue and connection. These activities do not require artistic training or prior facilitation experience. Instead, participatory arts are used as tools to support communication, perspective-taking, and relational awareness. The session will also introduce a set of caring behaviors that help participants reflect on how everyday interactions influence trust, collaboration, and support within organizations and communities. Participants will explore how these behaviors surface through shared creative experiences and how they can be intentionally cultivated through facilitated dialogue.


In addition to participating in these experiences, attendees will learn facilitation strategies, reflection prompts, and practical considerations for implementing arts-based engagement practices within their own organizations or community contexts. By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a replicable model and practical tools for integrating participatory arts experiences that strengthen relationships, build social capital, support well-being, and help cultivate cultures of care and collaboration.