Mari Shibuya is an artist, muralist and facilitator, passionate about the power of creativity to seed a fertile space for transformation. By creating an atmosphere in which participants can see and be seen for their whole self through taking incremental creative risks followed by facilitated group discussion, Mari works to create communal, collaborative creative practices that enable participants to witness themselves and their past trauma in a new way that facilitates envisioning new possibilities. Coming from a background in psychology and philosophy, Mari fuses their passion for mental wellness with their deep belief in creative self expression as an avenue for individuals to gain authorship in their lives and in their communities. Mari shares access to creative expression as a teaching artist for youth programs in Seattle such as Urban Artworks and Gage Academy. They share the power of creativity to cultivate leadership and self confidence in young people as a lead facilitator for Young Women Empowered (Y-WE) and Power of Hope Camps and share these facilitation tools through co-leading trainings for Partners for Youth Empowerment (PYE) for youth workers, educators, artist and change makers. As an artist, Mari works as a muralist for both public and private commission and leads community based mural projects. To view more of Mari’s artistic ventures and philosophy please visit www.marishibuya.com