How creativity helps process emotions and integrate psychedelic experiences

This special workshop is guided by Bri Emery who is a Creative Director, artist, and creative guide exploring how imagination, beauty, and creative practice can support emotional wellbeing and nervous system regulation. As the founder of Designlovefest, a creative platform whose aesthetic shaped the visual language of an era, her work bridges art, somatics, and experiential design to help people reconnect with their inner world and creative self.

Most of us stopped making art somewhere between childhood and adulthood. We traded drawing for spreadsheets, play for productivity. But the brain never stopped needing creative expression. It just stopped getting it.

Neuroaesthetics, a branch of cognitive neuroscience that studies how the brain processes beauty and creative experience, is revealing why that matters. Research shows that creative practice does more than produce something to hang on a wall. It activates neural pathways involved in emotional processing, reduces activity in the brain's rigid self-referential loops, and promotes the kind of flexible, associative thinking that helps us make sense of complex experiences. In short, making things changes how we think and feel.

All attendees should bring supplies, including paper, a few colored pens or markers, as well as, being in a quiet, comfortable space.

What we'll cover:

• Your brain on art: What neuroaesthetics research tells us about how creative expression affects emotion, cognition, and neural flexibility
• The science of art and beauty: The science behind non-verbal processing and why some experiences need to be felt and formed, not just discussed
• Guided creative practices: Hands-on exercises you can try in real time, designed to be accessible regardless of artistic background or skill level
• Building a creative practice that lasts: How to make creativity a sustainable part of your daily life, not just a one-time exercise
• Live Q&A with Bri Emery: Bring your questions about the brain, beauty, creativity, and how it all connects

These practices can sometimes bring up unexpected emotions or sensations. We encourage you to participate at your own pace, take breaks as needed, and have personal support resources in place before, during, and after the workshop