ACA Arts & Wellness Academy

“Art has a power to focus us on extraordinary and transcendent insights into what one’s life purpose can be.” Alex Grey

Atlantic Center for the Arts (ACA) is driven by a mission that focuses on multidisciplinary artistic collaboration and mentorship. Since 2015, ACA Arts & Wellness ambassadors have developed a shared culture and experiential method that connects the arts to community health. We invite teaching artists, community leaders, and healthcare professionals to learn these techniques and best practices in a unique academic forum held at the historic ACA Harris House in downtown New Smyrna Beach. During the academy, participants will learn ACA’s organizational culture of public engagement that connect the arts to community health. The academy is taught by ACA ambassadors, staff, and invited guest leaders in the field of arts and wellness. The vision of this program is to advocate for social engagement, experiential learning, and creative thinking using the arts to define a holistic path to improve physical, mental and behavioral conditions. 

Registration:

Option 1 – On site at ACA September 11-13, 2025 | $625 includes access to all presentations (and online curriculum), experiential workshops, networking opportunities, 3 nights accommodation (Wed-Sat) and healthy meals by Chef Morgan Coppola at the ACA Main Campus (1414 Art Center Ave, New Smyrna Beach, Florida). Click here to register for Option 1 – On site at ACA

Option 2 – Online only | $125 includes access to all presentations and experiential workshops via online curriculum. Click here to register for Option 2 – Online only

Participants will learn:

• The ACA Five Phases of an Arts & Wellness Experience (guiding method for facilitating creative group connection).
• How to design programs for diverse audiences and facilitate arts experiences in wellness.
• How facilitators can enhance listening skills to create a restorative setting.
• Ways to offer creative tools for resilience.
• Approaches to reframe challenges as opportunities.
• The cyclical process of integrating research and mentorship into programs for your community.

Presenting Artists:

• ACA Artist Ambassador, Bethany Bennett focuses her presentation on recognizing history of trauma in youth and veterans, and ways to respond to these populations through patience, empathy, and encouragement.
• ACA Artist Alumni, Monica Vidal features her expertise in creative grief support, and the successful community workshop “Art It Through.”
• ACA Artist Alumni, Eileen Hernandez brings her workshop “Calming Totems” to the Academy, which has supported local healthcare workers with stress relief and deeper understanding of holistic health.
• ACA Artist Ambassador, Justin Lang (aka Justincredible) will share his experience with mentorship in the Volusia County Public Schools and his extensive knowledge of creative writing and slam poetry.
• ACA Academy Alumni, Sauda Jackson introduces the “Universal Hug” and her specialty of creative movement and improvisation with diverse audiences.

About the Presenters:

Bethany Bennett is an interdisciplinary artist who earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Central Florida and her Master of Fine Arts from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The artwork she produces question women’s equality and role in society. Her investment in the community is to boost others confidence and self-worth through artistic practices. Currently, she is an adjunct visual arts professor at Daytona State College and works with ACA as a Community Artist sharing health through the arts with diverse groups from elders to youth. https://www.daytonastate.edu/directory/bethany-behr.aspx

Monica Vidal is an internationally accredited psychologist, certified NLP master practitioner, corporate trainer, and public speaker. She combines her expertise in psychology with her passion for art to help people navigate grief. By creating art, she believes we can honor loved ones and rediscover our purpose. Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, Monica has traveled the world, drawing inspiration from art in cities like Los Angeles, Paris, and Dubai. Specializing in fabric and yarn, she views art as a reflection of the soul, and is passionate about guiding and inspiring others through her work.

Justin Lang (aka Justincredible) joined ACA in 2019 as a creative arts teacher and ambassador. He inspires youth to find their spark and build confidence in their unique voice through creative expression. He was born in North Miami, FL and raised in Dade & Broward County, FL. His grandfather was a traveling Jazz Band Saxophone Player and his parents sang and played instruments growing up. So he did as well. Justin’s mom and dad introduced him to R&B, Soul, Jazz, and Gospel music. As a kid listening to the radio, he was introduced to Hip-Hop and Rock music which lit a HUGE spark in him! In high school Justin began to write poetry as a way of expressing his teenage frustrations and as stress relief. Shortly after, he began recording music in the garage alongside a local artist group in Miramar, FL. Soon after that, he started to win rap battles, talent contests, and released EPs in South & Central Florida. As a graduate of the University of Central Florida, he won multiple talent competitions and created radio intros for established DJs. Since graduation, he has been a Lead Creative Writer for several organizations, overseen #GREATNESS: Behind the Scenes (a Creative Arts Mentorship program), held teaching & counseling positions throughout Central Florida, and was ranked 15th in the United States Blackberry Peach National Poetry Slam competition.

Sauda Jackson has used art as a way to break down barriers to communication and to provide tools for building self-esteem. She leads arts, dance and empowerment groups in her local community. Ms. Jackson has developed an empowering ritual for all to use, The Universal Hug. Through the Universal Hug, participants are given an opportunity to slow down, breathe, ground, tap into their own power, focus on gratitude, release tension, to remember their heart’s desires, to remember to be compassionate with themselves and to emotionally reset. All are encouraged to use this tool often and to share it widely.

Dr. Eileen Hernández is a board-certified OB-GYN and mixed media abstract artist with 17 years of practice in Florida. As an ACA Arts & Wellness Ambassador, she has exhibited in nine shows, pioneered the Calming Totems program with ACA and Orlando Health, and won the “Celebrating the Genius of Women” Award in 2022. Her work, which blends scientific analysis with creativity, draws inspiration from global colors and textures, promoting mindfulness and healing feminism. Dr. Hernández’s art serves as both a therapeutic outlet and a tool for coping with the demands of healthcare. “Inspiration is everywhere—go create and find your own way to heal.”

Registration:

Option 1 – On site at ACA | $625 includes access to all presentations, experiential workshops, networking opportunities, accommodations and healthy meals by Chef Morgan Coppola at the ACA Main Campus (1414 Art Center Ave, New Smyrna Beach, Florida). Click here to register for Option 1 – On site at ACA

Option 2 – Online only | $125 includes access to all presentations and experiential workshops via online curriculum. Click here to register for Option 2 – Online only

Contact us for more information: community@atlanticcenterforthearts.org / 386-423-1753.