ARTS UNITY MOVEMENT
Using the therapeutic power of the arts to
move people, heal individuals, and unite communities
EXPERIENCE THE MOVEMENT at
Our mission is to deliver
ARTS-BASED experiences that:
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EDUCATE individuals with wellness knowledge, improving mental health and emotional intelligence.
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ENRICH communities through exposure to the arts, fostering a more inclusive and compassionate community.
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ENLIGHTEN minds to the experiences of others, inspiring connection and building empathy.
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ENCOURAGE hearts to mend, healing trauma and growing resilience.
Interactive Performance Programs
AUM’s Interactive Performance Programs are moving and immersive experiences, featuring AUM's award-winning NewGround Theatre Dance Company and select guest artists. These talented performers innovate each time they take the stage by turning a performance into an experience, an audience into a community.
AUM's Performance Programs are renowned for the ways they explore topics that both inspire and challenge. Past themes have centered around:
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self-empowerment & compassion
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unity & inclusion
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racial equity & unconscious bias
Perhaps the most unique aspect of AUM's Performance Programs are the opportunities they present throughout the performance for participants to become involved in group discussion and even create their own art, by crafting original, in-the-moment, art-response pieces. This compelling production style as gained AUM's NewGround Theatre Dance Company local, national and global recognition. NewGround continues to explore new styles and storyline concepts in its delivery of original works for the community.
Wellness Education Programs
AUM's Wellness Education Programs use an evidence-driven, arts-based approach that improves mental health and emotional well-being in simple, sustainable ways.
Our Education Programs are unique in that they:
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Utilize the latest neuropsychology research
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Provide participants meaningful exposure to the arts
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Teach mental health awareness and emotional intelligence
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Deliver practical wellness tools and skills
Workshops are instructor-led and utilize a variety of art disciplines including music, movement, drama, and art. Our Education Programs leverage experiential learning practices to ensure training transfer and learning retention. Because we believe people of all ages can benefit from our innovative approach to wellness education, we work with children and adults alike in a variety of settings including schools, businesses and community events.
Therapeutic Outreach Programs
AUM's Therapeutic Outreach Programs meet people where they are in times of need, offering them a safe space to explore and process trauma and adverse life experiences through the Creative Arts.
Our Outreach Programs utilize a variety of Arts Therapies including:
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Visual Arts
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Dance/Movement
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Drama
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Drumming
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Play and Sand Tray
All Outreach Programs are led by board-certified, licensed Expressive Arts Therapists, and are offered in both a crisis intervention context as well as on-going mental health support services. We are grateful to our partnerships with groups such as San Mateo County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services and San Mateo County Sheriff's Activity League which allow us to offer these impactful programs on an recurring weekly basis to incarcerated, at-risk and underserved youth in our community.
AUM Board & Staff
Coleen Lorenz
MA, BC-DMT, CGP
AUM President,
Artistic Director, NewGround Theatre Dance Company
RJ Mahadev
AUM Secretary and Treasurer
Lisa Spivey
AUM Board Member-at-Large
Devora Weinapple
MA, LMFT, ATR-BC
AUM Board Member,
Director of Web and Graphics
Roberta Wentzel-Walter
MA, ATR-BC
AUM Vice President,
Behavioral Health & Recovery
Services Director
Heather McGinnis
AUM Executive Director