ArtLifting Helps People Change Their Lives with Art Sales

Art that intersects with social healing serves a great purpose. As Estella Conwill Majozo wrote,

“To search for the good and make it matter: this is the real challenge for the artist” (p. 88, 1995).

ArtLifting, an organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, supports individuals who are homeless or disabled by providing them with a special venue in which to sell their Art online. According to their story on their site, Liz Powers had been working with individuals in these communities since she was a teen. She noticed that after many of the art programs she ran at women’s shelters, the beautiful art would be left behind or thrown away. She created ArtLifting with her brother to honor these artists and their work and also to give them a way to sell it and a place for it and them to belong.

Their site shares this feedback from a participating artist:

“As ArtLifting artist Randy Nicholson, who was abused as a child and lives with bipolar disorder, describes, ‘Your interest in my work makes me feel validated. Not ‘validated as an artist’ or anything like that — just validated. This is a new feeling for me and, truthfully, makes me somewhat uneasy. However, it does feel empowering and satisfying. I am grateful for you.’”

Here is a picture of Randy with his art:

ArtLifting has been running online since 2013 and serves dozens of artist across the US who are recommended by the Art Directors running programs at shelters and disability centers. The FAQ page of their site explains that this format helps them to help “individuals who are committed to improving their situations and finding stable employment and housing.” They also explain that

“our artists do not want to be treated as charity cases, but as human beings with dignity.”

They represent the artists much as a conventional gallery would and they are a benefit corporation, meaning their purpose is to produce a positive impact on society.
I will show a few artworks here but on there are a great deal more works in a variety of styles on their site. You can browse by artist here. Kimberly Williams has been painting since she was a small child and has struggled with homelessness, addiction, and mental health concerns. She now chooses Art over addictive behaviors, and hopes to teach Art to children as well. Here she is holding one of her vibrant, bold paintings:

You can also purchase products like posters and phone cases on the site. Here is a card featuring Abstract 24 by June Yan, rich with expressionist brush strokes. A set of 5 can be purchased on the site. The artist shares that

“through painting she can ‘see the world a little more clearly.’”

You can also search for artists who are close to you geographically. Below artist Frank Bescia sits with one of his beautiful scenes, where vertical brushstrokes rise up to meet rural buildings created with geometric planes of color. He says that he paints

“to bring joy to people.”

In November 2015 The Boston Rotaract Club, a student and young professional service organization, hosts their Autumn Gala in support of ArtLifting. The Gala will feature music, art, food and drinks and you can visit their site to learn more about their projects, buy tickets, and support ArtLifting.

It is important that all artists get to tell their stories. Author Iain Thomas wrote that,

“There’s no story I can tell you that is as powerful as the story you can tell yourself.”

ArtLifting is a national organization that offers individuals who are struggling a means of advertising, sharing, selling, and celebrating their work.

Online sources are linked in the article.
Other source:
Majozo, E.C. (1995). To search for the good and make it matter in S. Lacy (Ed.),
Mapping the terrain: New genre public art (pp. 83–93) Seattle, WA: Bay Press.