Art can be the catalyst for a number of various changes in life. It offers people a chance to experience beauty from a new perspective; it transforms cities from the neighborhood level on up; and in Boston and Miami, it’s given the homeless an opportunity to express their creativity and make a living. ArtLifting, a Boston-based organization that specializes in the latter, is hoping to take that notion and bring it to five other major cities nationwide.
They just need a little help from you first.
ArtLifting has launched a Kickstarter campaign in hopes of raising $20,000 to bring its social-enterprising and philanthropic system to San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, New York City and Washington D.C. Since launching in Boston last December, the founding tandem of Liz and Spencer Powers have found great success and hope to parlay that to 65 additional artists in those metro areas.
The 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Report the Department of Housing and Urban Development presented to Congress indicates that California, New York, and Massachusetts are three of five states – the other two being Florida and Texas – accounting for more than half of the homeless population in the United States. Illinois and Michigan aren’t far behind.
“We were fortunate to experience positive results since launching in December and are now working to scale across the country,” Spencer told BostInno in and email. “We’ve partnered with homeless and disabled individuals in Florida, Washington D.C., New Jersey, and Kenya while simultaneously growing our Boston base.”
To date, the Powers one-two punch have raised $6,546 from 87 backers with 17 days left to meet their goal.
“We need money to grow and empower more artists,” Liz mentions in the Kickstarter pitch video above. “It costs money to travel to five cities and have expenses building our artist-base.”
According to the ArtLifting blog, funds raised will also be put towards art materials such as professional-quality photography equipment, and some will also be allotted towards marketing and branding efforts to help spread the word about ArtLifting while garnering more aspiring artists to have their original pieces displayed in exhibits and online.
The beauty behind ArtLifting is that it not only allows those in less fortunate living situations to earn some extra money, but it gives them a boost in confidence and feeling of accomplishment when they complete a work and sell it.
Liz told me of one woman, 26-year old Katie, who experienced homelessness for 10-years on and off, only to come across the ArtLifting and discover artistic inspiration. Liz said that Katie was accepted to a program in New Mexico that gives her both housing and the ability to develop art programs for low-income families.
Though not everyone goes on to be accepted into an art program after honing their skills and passions with ArtLifting, they do get to show off their masterpieces in exhibits like City Heart – an annual showcase that takes place at the Prudential Center.
For more information about ArtLifting, it’s artists and the online gallery, check them all out on the website here.
