BALTIMORE — Art with a Heart is celebrating almost 30 years of making a difference in the community, one brushstroke at a time.
WATCH: Art with a Heart celebrates 26 years in Baltimore
What better way to celebrate over two decades of showing the community the power of art than by painting a mural?
On Thursday, the community, even our youngest members, came together to paint at Art with a Heart's Heartwares store in Hampden for the nonprofit's 26th anniversary.
Store manager Kristina Harlee said their mission is to foster community through art.
“We have community art projects around the city; we also have volunteer opportunities, so if you’re looking to get out of the house and get involved, we have opportunities for that, and we help young artists sell their products for the first time," Harlee said.
Allison Fries told WMAR 2 News that she's seen how art can bring people together, speaking about helping Art with a Heart with an art installation at the Bel Air Upper Chesapeake Hospital.
“Seeing the nurses and the patients coming together and seeing us all put it up just like, the amazing community that it gets to bring people together; it’s like otherworldly," Fries said. “For anyone in the K-12 system, I feel like art is always a place where people get to do anything creatively that gets to express themselves.”
Harlee said they're looking ahead to more amazing years.
“It started in the trunk of our founder’s car, Randy name, and it evolved to over 16,000 classes for Baltimore City, so we are growing and we plan to grow for 26 more years, and I’m looking forward to it.”
The mural painting will continue through the weekend from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
