From 2015 to 2024 the Healing Arts initiative and programs were mainly the result of a relationship between Martinez Gallery artists and physicians, curators, writers, independent activists and professionals. Martinez Gallery's mission is anchored in the understanding that the arts in general have the power to help in the treatment of illnesses and disorders, as well as improve the community’s quality of life.
Through those engagements, that mission, and the clinic that Martinez Gallery housed within its premises, this ambitious undertaking covered different areas, from health care to art classes, exhibitions and collaboration between artists and the community, books and zines (including coloring books), workshops and storefront presentations.
The initiative offered daily open art studio creative learning, that provide guidance, gave support, and fostered creative thinking. Youth had access to a wide range of inspiring materials and a variety of ways to explore them. Martinez Gallery offered these featured activities and materials to facilitate children's awareness of health literacy and other life skills. Art classes were designed for young creatives, ages 1 to 21.
Healing Arts incorporated activities outside traditional medicine—art exchanges, activities and interventions that were empowering, humanizing, and affordable —to address present and dangerous growing threats to youth public health and growth.
