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At its heart, Art4Everyone is really just the belief that art makes people’s lives better. We don’t think art has to be precious, or a luxury only for a privileged few, or something only an MFA can do. As our name reflects, we think art can (and should!) be done by everyone. Art4Everyone is an arts initiative (with a 501(c)(3) in the works) that seeks to spread the joy of artistic creation and contribution in our community. Dreamed up by artist and teacher Penny Ames, the program has taken many shapes over the past two years, finally flowering into its current form. Working primarily with seniors and children (although available to all) Art4Everyone has brought five beautiful, inspiring, large-scale murals to life in the past year. One hangs in the local airport, one hangs in a local Rec Center, one will become the backdrop for a children’s theater camp production, one brightens the walls of a Peruvian elementary school, and one is still making its way to its permanent home.
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(above) The Belgrade Community Action Association mural is unveiled at the Albert J. Ellis Airport.
So… what makes these projects worth your contribution?
Art4Everyone seeks to engage all levels of the community, from young children to adults to senior citizens, regardless of background or socioeconomic status, in creating grand and impressive art that fosters togetherness, cooperation and creative expression. There is always a need for art, and there is always room to enhance lives through creating art. When a person spends time each week, for four months, contributing to a piece of art that will be seen by other members of their community, that person also becomes invested in their community - and starts to realize the value of their own work, too. At a time when ‘real’ art remains out of reach for a lot of people, Art4Everyone aims to reclaim to importance of real, collaborative, beautiful, public art.
The beneficiaries of these projects are every member of our community.
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(above) Belgrade Community members get to work.
How can I help?
Great question!
We want to keep doing what we're doing and, even more than that, we want to find ways to make what we already do even better. We want to reach further and include more people, and your contribution can get us there. We're asking for $6,000. That number pays for four brand new, full-scale murals with four different groups of painters. It covers materials and construction of sixteen mural panels (four per mural), enough paint to cover them and enough brushes for everyone to spread it around. Importantly, this also covers a stipend for our artists’ time and travel costs. They’re the ones who make sure our designs are painter-friendly, that we're always ready to go on painting days and that everyone's moving in the same direction.
Your contribution means we can open new doors in our community by searching out four new groups and saying "Hey - would you like to do some art, at no cost to your organization?" You put the paintbrush in their hands and we show up with the paints. With an average of 15 people per mural, that's 60 people painting. And that's pretty awesome.
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(above)
School children in Peru point out the flowers they createdWe can't even say how much we appreciate your help. We put our heads together and thought about how we might like to be recognized for a contribution like yours and hope you’ll like the great perks we've cooked up – we’re excited to share them with you!
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