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Turning Art Rentals Into Free Art Workshops for Kids

Written by:

Evan La Ruffa

Aug 26, 2019

In the nonprofit sector, there’s always an issue around funding. A lack of it, or the cost of finding it. Companies are also looking for cool ways to give back, and every year arts funding in schools gets slashed. What if you could turn art rentals into free art workshops for kids?

At IPaintMyMind, we’ve built a model that relies on our art services, like rotating artwork for offices, to not only offer value and create community, but to fund a large majority of the FREE and reduced cost art programs we provide to Chicago Public Schools, libraries, and youth centers.

That way everyone wins through a program that connects us.

By offering companies that want to give back a value-rich service for a need they have anyway (outfitting the walls in their office), we’re able to offer an awesome service AND a chance to give back at the same time. If we were just asking for a donation, working with us would be a lot harder to rationalize, and by building a business model that leverages client work to fund community work, we’ve been able to support local schools in the most organic of ways.

We’ve found that placing art in schools certainly brings them to life, but we love that as our programs have expanded, we’ve been able to add components that round out the experience for the kids we work with.

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First it was art on the walls, then it was the curriculum any educator can use to engage their students, and as of 2019, we added free art Workshops where the artist whose work was featured in the school gallery would come in to speak to the kids about their process and business, while giving the kids a chance to make something as well.

Sam Kirk made a mini-mural with 2nd graders at Bateman Elementary, Dan Grzeca showed Northwest Middle School students his scratch line drawing technique, and Jay Ryan pulled screen prints with the kids at Nixon Elementary.

Children and the arts are made for each other! And it’s been incredible to see kids come to life when they see the ‘real artist’ in their classroom.

And to think that none of these art installations or art workshops would have happened without the participation of our clients is wild! It’s this impact that gets us excited to find companies that:

1. Want edgy, fun art for their office, and

2. Want to give back in a really unique way

Any company can reach out to us about our Shared Walls Rotating Art Subscription program, but we really are looking for companies that really care about making art accessible to underserved communities. Not just because art looks great, but because experiencing it empowers kids and communities to think bigger & build the creative solutions of the future.

Interested in getting started? Contact us.