WORTHINGTON — After showing her street wear collection in Asian L.A. Fashion Week in early October, Worthington’s Suree Sompamitwong — founder of Creative Healing Space and the clothing line, ArtInvasionz — has returned home with plans to host a local fashion fundraiser.

The Nov. 18 gala begins at 6 p.m. at Lerma’s Event Center, and will include a fashion show featuring Sompamitwong’s 2023 Fall collection, “Resurrection,” along with live music and a variety of art, including graffiti murals and projector art. There will also be a singer and a brief program. Also, Sompamitwong will perform a belly dance during the evening.

The event begins at 6 p.m., with tickets available for individual or group seating. A VIP section is planned, and groups who sponsor a table will be served a meal.

“This event is dress to impress,” Sompamitwong shared. “The first half of the show will be modeled by youths in our community and the second half of the show will be the adult collection. During half time, that’s when all of the performances will be.”

The event is a fundraiser for Creative Healing Space, an organization founded by Sompamitwong that uses art to address important issues including mental health and social justice.

Funds will be raised through ticket sales and a silent auction of local, donated artwork, including sculptures and art installations — some coming from Minnesota West Community & Technical College.

“Our theme is Mother Nature,” Sompamitwong said of the artwork, while the theme of the fashion show is Growth.

“We really want to promote growth and healing,” she said. “I want people to come and hear our mission and vision, and also to support the cause.”

Sompamitwong, who works as a youth employment specialist with the Southwest Minnesota Private Industry Council, is working hard to grow Creative Healing Space in her spare time.

“For a small nonprofit, we do as much as we can,” she said.

Past programs have included art therapy sessions for youths at risk, which included bringing in a registered play therapist to work with youths during a six-week program.

“We’ve also brought in different artists — a comic book artist; someone who did film,” she said. The program is called Artist Collective, and Sompamitwong is seeking to bring in people who work in various art forms. She is a sculptor and fashion designer, she has a friend who does videography and another who owns a modeling company.

“I want to give (youths) an idea of what other creatives are doing,” she said.

Sompamitwong also wants to expand programming to adults. She is currently working on plans for a Teachers Rejuvenated Wellness Club, with the goal of launching a project in early 2024.

“We have a lot of programs coming up next year, including a drum circle that emphasizes teamwork and collaboration,” Sompamitwong said. “This fundraiser will be to continue to expand our programming. I want to be able to serve more people. That’s my dream. This is my life’s mission.”

She wants to make the upcoming fashion fundraiser an annual event.

Meanwhile, she is already planning her next ArtInvasionz clothing line, after being invited to participate in Houston Fashion Week next May in Texas.

For more information and to register for the fashion fundraiser, visit creativehealingspace.org/

Julie Buntjer became editor of The Globe in July 2021, after working as a beat reporter at the Worthington newspaper since December 2003. She has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture journalism from South Dakota State University.