Discover how a global League of Extraordinary Artists is empowering youth with serious illnesses, disabilities and complex mental health and medical needs by harnessing the power of the arts as a tool for healing. The Superhero Project (a nonprofit organization based in Cleveland) interviews kids and teens about who they are beyond their diagnosis and how they want to make a positive difference in the world. Each child is then matched with an illustrator who designs the superhero alter ego they describe, creating a visual representation of their strength, courage, creativity and resilience. Hear how artists tackle the challenge of designing characters based on a child's ideas and celebrating their physical differences, explore how the organization's work reflects the core values of imagination, inclusion, representation and joy, and discuss how community exhibits featuring this new pantheon of superheroes can impact audiences.
