Expressive Arts uses the five major art disciplines; Dance, Drama, Music, Visual Art and Poetry, as well as Nature Work, to help create and manage change, educate and heal. Learn more at:

Double THE POWER OF YOUR GIFT WITH our tax deductible dollar for dollar MATCHING GRANT CAMPAIGN.

Thank you for considering an annual or one time donation to our diversity scholarship fund. The community depends on our student interns. Can they depend upon you?

A 501.c3 nonprofit community service organization

Service to the Community of San Diego, to Expressive Arts Helping Professionals and Students

If you believe the arts are more than entertainment or decoration, you're our type. Since the founding of the field, Expressive Arts Therapy practitioners have proven to be critically helpful in situations from education, to healing trauma, to community building. The arts matter, and so does the training of expert facilitators to bring the arts to bear on the challenges of our community .

We Believe the Arts Make a Difference in San Diego

donate to our diversty scholarship fund

The arts can help with grief, loss, depression, and anxiety. The arts can educate, help with complex problem solving, engage the imagination and teach empathy. The arts are not a luxury. They are essential- Wes Chester, Institute Director

Expressive ARTS Foundation

The Expressive Arts Foundation is a 501.c3 nonprofit formed to support the notion of art-making as an essential component in healing, education and community building. Our mission is to support students and professionals in developing mastery and professional standards in the field of Expressive Arts, to bring the helping arts in every form to a broad cross- section of our community. It is the intent of the Foundation to offer activities to the community that educate, enliven and improve quality of life through attention to the aesthetic dimension of experience.

OUR MISSION

We Believe the most effective helpers come from the communities they serve. Expressive Arts Interns and Professionals make a difference in our community. Since 1998, The Expressive Arts Institute has served greater San Diego Community, with the mission of building community, advocating for arts education, and arts in helping and healing across the dozens of under-served populations.

But the financial burdens of graduate education still make the necessary professional degree a challenge for students in poorer communities. The Institute prides itself on having an extremely diverse student body, yet the socioeconomic status of our students has proven to be the largest challenge to a student body that mirrors our own San Diego home.