Every school has students who need a reset.
Few have a place intentionally designed for one.
CalmLab™ helps students pause, reset, and return to learning through evidence-informed emotional regulation environments that preserve instructional time and support student well-being.
ART OVER DESTRUCTION
Empowering Utah Youth Since 2012
Art Over Destruction (AOD) is a Utah nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young people build resilience, confidence, and purpose through creativity, emotional regulation, and innovative learning experiences.
For more than a decade, AOD has partnered with schools, healthcare organizations, and community partners to create environments where students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
Today, that mission continues through CalmLab™.
WHY NOW?
Utah Has Identified Student Well-Being as a Priority.
The 2025 Utah Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) Survey identifies emotional well-being, school connectedness, and classroom engagement as continuing priorities for schools across Utah.
The report also found:
• Lifetime marijuana use declined from 9.5% to 6.2%.
• Vaping experimentation declined by approximately one-third.
• Serious consideration of suicide declined by 28.4%.
While these trends are encouraging, the report emphasizes continued investment in environments that strengthen emotional regulation and student well-being.
CalmLab was designed to help schools respond to those priorities.
CALMLAB™
Helping Students Pause. Reset. Return to Learning.
Every school has students who experience stress, frustration, anxiety, or emotional overload.
When students cannot regulate, learning stops—not only for that student, but often for the classroom.
CalmLab transforms an existing room into an intentional emotional regulation environment where students can:
• Pause
• Reset
• Reflect
• Return ready to learn
Every element is thoughtfully selected to support emotional regulation through:
• Purposeful lighting
• Creative expression
• Reflection
• Sensory supports
• Evidence-informed practices
PILOT RESULTS
Early Outcomes
200+
Student Sessions
3.2 Minutes
Average Reset Time
84%
Returned to Learning Within Five Minutes
89%
Positive Outcomes
Pilot conducted November 2025–February 2026.
HOW CALMLAB WORKS
A Simple Four-Step Process
Student arrives.
Student uses guided emotional regulation tools.
Student regains focus and emotional balance.
Student returns ready to learn.
The goal is simple:
Protect instructional time while helping students build lifelong self-regulation skills.
TRUSTED BY ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING UTAH YOUTH
Since 2012, Art Over Destruction has collaborated with schools, healthcare organizations, nonprofits, businesses, and public agencies committed to improving outcomes for young people.
ABOUT BASHA
Saifar "BASHA" Nisar
Founder, Art Over Destruction
BASHA founded Art Over Destruction in 2012 with a simple belief:
Creativity can help young people build resilience, confidence, and hope.
Over the past decade, AOD has evolved from community art programming into evidence-informed emotional regulation environments designed to help students succeed both inside and outside the classroom.
CalmLab represents the next chapter of that mission.
CALL TO ACTION
Imagine What a CalmLab Could Look Like in Your School.
Whether you're a school, healthcare organization, foundation, or community partner, we'd welcome the opportunity to explore how CalmLab can support your students.
Art Over Destruction (AOD) — 501(c)(3) Non Profit Organization
1066 E 2100 S, Suite 11
Salt Lake City, Utah 84106
Programs
CalmLab™ Emotional Regulation Environments • Creative Regulation Labs • Creative STEM Learning • Youth Arts Access
Helping schools and communities build calmer learning environments where young people can pause, reset, and thrive.
© 2026 Art Over Destruction. All rights reserved.
