Art U OK? 2025 Celebrated Creativity Connection and Mental Wellness
On March 22, 2025, downtown Las Vegas hosted the third annual ArtUOK? Art & Mental Health Resource Fair at the Historic Fifth Street School. This free community event brought together local artists, performers, wellness organizations, and mental health advocates in a shared mission: to support healing through creativity.
Organized by the City of Las Vegas in collaboration with the First Friday Foundation, Art U OK? is more than just a fair, it’s a celebration of art and emotional wellbeing. This year’s gathering featured live music, workshops, self-defense, vocal expression, journaling, expressive painting, and a wide range of resources for all ages, promoting self-expression and resilience through the arts.
Life by Music: Rhythm as a Resource
Life by Music was honored to be a part of this year’s ArtUOK? Throughout the day, we welcomed attendees into our Rhythm Circles, where participants of all ages got hands-on with percussion instruments, collaborated with others, and experienced The Art of the Jam firsthand.
Music has always been a powerful tool for connection, and we were thrilled to share that with the Las Vegas community. Dozens of visitors stopped by to talk about how music has supported them through difficult times. Some opened up about their personal mental health journeys while others grabbed an instrument and joined in.
Later in the afternoon, we had the opportunity to take our rhythm circle on stage. We handed out instruments into the crowd and led a live jam session, creating a spontaneous moment of joy, rhythm, and unity. It was a true example of how participatory music empowers and uplifts.
The Spirit of First Friday
First Friday has always held a very dear place in our hearts because in our formative years as artists, First Friday was (and still is) a magical place of art, music, connection, community, and expression that reaffirmed us as artists, and that we were supported in believing in ourselves & had a safe community in First Friday in which we belonged to & always had to look forward to. Now LBM had the opportunity to bring the power of music, collaboration & The Art Of The Jam to the people of our community WITH First Friday!
Big thanks to Corey Fagan for organizing the event and for running First Friday as such a positive and welcoming force in the city. We were also grateful to reconnect with Mayor Shelley Berkley, who stopped by the booth and spoke with us about our mission.
Why Art and Music Matter for Mental Health
Events like Art U OK? remind us that mental health is for everyone. Whether you’re an artist, musician, parent, student, or just someone trying to get through the week, creative expression is a form of care. Mental health is something we should all talk about & check in on. We deserve to have routines & deeper understanding, and an awareness that we get to take time to do whatever it is we need to combat any forms of mental strife, stress or depression. Music & the arts always have helped combat dark feelings. All in all, it was a beautiful day filled with so many great, positive people.