Skip to main content

Boston startup sells works by homeless and disabled artists


Liz Powers has a truly fascinating piece in the Huffington Post about ArtLifting, a Boston-based startup that sells art made by the homeless and disabled. 
"I want to maximize our artists' opportunity to earn their own income. Before we existed, many of the artists we work with had no outlet. The ones that did, were lucky if they could make $20 selling their originals on a street corner. We need to treat these artists with the respect that they deserve. Since we launched just a year a half ago, five of our artists have already gained housing. Original artworks have already sold for as much as $1700."
Liz and her brother launched ArtLifting in late 2013 with $4,000 of their own money. Today, the site features about 800 pieces of art from 52 artists across the United States — everything from smartphone cases and greeting cards to posters and original paintings. Fifty-five percent of the profit from each sale goes to the artist and the rest for the company to cover its costs.
"We want to treat our artists with dignity. They don't want a hand out - they want to earn their own income. As we've heard from many of our artists, the power to earn generates hope. We view ourselves merely as the vehicle that connects them with the countless customers who love their work."
ArtLifting finds its artists through local art teachers working in homeless shelters. Recently, the company landed a $1.1 million in seed funding from investors including Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Enigmatic Shapes and Psychedelic Patterns

To say that I love Sanagi 's work is an understatement. Looking at her art feels sort of therapeutic, and I find her drawings refreshingly intricate. They're trippy, psychedelic, and resemble something that you might see under a microscope. Not much is Googleable about Sanagi, but that's fine. There aren't many artists these days that still pull off the whole mysterious vibe, so I commend her for that. By the way... they're all hand-drawn with pen and ink.

The Adorable Sculptures of Yen Yen Lo

These images are from a series of wall sculptures created by Yen Yen Lo . Here you can see her intricately textured ceramic pieces, looking downright adorable. Yen Yen Lo's eye for the unique and whimsical is delightful. Apparently they are not intended for kids under 16. Fifteen-year-olds cannot be trusted with fragile stuff. Get them a Funko Pop instead.

These peg dolls would make a cool nursery decoration for Trekkies

I'm so dad of a little girl. Look at me posting about toys and kids apps more frequently now. Anyway, I really love this Star Trek Enterprise plaything. It's made of 100% wood and features characters from The Next Generation . It's smooth, built to last, and perfect for little hands. I'm not just sure if it's still available for purchase on Etsy. [h/t: Tor ]