Noa Mims with Steel Smiling

Over the course of a two-year collaboration with Steel Smiling, artist Noa Mims created the Black Queer Affinity Series and Creative Healing Workshops as part of the Public Art and Communities Program. Serving Black people across Allegheny County, Steel Smiling seeks to bridge the gap between Black people and mental health support through education, advocacy and awareness. To support Steel Smiling’s mission, Mims created the Black Queer Affinity Series and Creative Healing Workshops, both of which explore art and movement as forms of healing for Black people in the Pittsburgh region.

Mims began partnering with Steel Smiling in 2021. One of Steel Smiling’s hallmark programs is the Beams to Bridges program. This recurring mental health workforce development program equips Black adults with the knowledge, skills, and competencies to serve as Community Mental Health Advocates. Over the course of six months, participants are led through a rigorous curriculum that provides a grounding in mental health principles and practices while also providing space for self-reflection and connection. 

In 2022, Mims began engaging with Beams to Bridges participants, leading two pilot creative healing workshops that sought to provide a forum for coping, connection, and creative self-expression. These pilot workshops created the foundation for the programming that Mims launched in 2023.

Building on their prior engagement, Mims developed three Creative Healing Workshops to support participants of Steel Smiling’s 2023 Beams to Bridges program cohort. Mims worked with the organization to integrate several creative workshops into the training series. Running from April through October 2023, these workshops include self portraiture and reflection, a deep listening audio landscapes activity, and a Zen garden experience as part of a larger Wellness Provider Showcase.

These workshops explore art as a tool for mental wellness and seek to engage participants in developing mental wellness strategies. They also provide an introduction to creative expression for those who may be new to the process while also offering avenues for deeper inquiry to those with prior experiences. Through these workshops, Mims hopes that participants can grow and nurture creative self-care practices that can help to support their own health journeys as they in turn continue to advocate for the mental health of their own friends and neighbors.

To further honor and extend Steel Smiling’s mission, Mims developed the Black Queer Affinity Series. This series supports members of the Black Queer community in the Pittsburgh area with free events geared towards mindfulness and creative expression. Running for thirteen weeks from August to November 2023, the series focuses on uplifting Black Queer mental health. Open to Black individuals who identify as Queer, the series consists of 21 events that create gathering spaces for community, play, rest, and relaxation.

The series includes eight yoga sessions, eight affinity social hours, and six ceramics workshops. Yoga will be led by YOGAMOTIF, a creative wellness studio that offers art and yoga classes to youth, pregnant people, and the community at large. The affinity social hours include a catered picnic in the park and discussion around a community prompt, as well as time to socialize and build connection. The ceramics workshops will be led by Mims Ceramics, a Black- and Queer-owned handmade home goods brand founded by Mims. These hand building workshops focus on making unique and functional objects such as incense holders, dishware, and other home goods.

To learn more and register for the events in this series, please visit the Online Resources section below.

Learn more about the series and register on the event website.

Learn more about Noa Mims and their other projects on their website.

Learn more about Steel Smiling on their website.

Learn more about YOGAMOTIF on their website.

Learn more about Mims Ceramics.

Pittsburgh-based artist Noa Mims has a research-based creative practice that centers themes of the psyche and social justice. With a BA in Psychology and Studio Arts, Noa uses a variety of mediums to explore identity as a psychological and cultural concept. Mims also produces creative educational resources to advocate for harm reduction and science-based drug education.