The impact of art crosses all divides

Q: I’ve seen Paint Love referenced in the AJC and have recently returned to painting in my spare time. Can you tell me about Paint Love?

A: Paint Love was founded in 2014 by Julie McKevitt. The organization partners with Title I schools and various non-profits connecting disadvantaged youth through art. The group customizes projects based on the needs of the community or demographic they are working with.

McKevitt, also an artist and a dancer, discovered while volunteering that access to art education was “inequitable” in parts of Atlanta and in her community. “Believing that art was impactful she set out on a journey to change that,” said Executive Director Laura Shaw.

Along with several other artists, they began volunteering at some non-profits, such as Kate’s Club and Wellspring Living, bringing in mediums that the kids usually wouldn’t have access to. The first project was a metal pour.

“As we’ve progressed, we’ve layered on top of that a more intentional focus on themes with a mental health twist based on the topics or issues our partners are experiencing. We work with some kids who have experienced things that nobody should have to experience.

Ellen Gadberry helps a student at Kate’s Club create a clay animal mask to talk about how grief expresses itself.

“Art is really a different type of thinking. Creativity and imagination are really important for fostering hope. Our model incorporates the building of the social-emotional learning skill. In a lot of our projects kids experience it and express themselves differently,” she said.

Chloe Young works with Emily Stevens, 13 (L) and Nydia Jones, 9 (R) on a self-portrait project around the theme of self expression.

Beyond the different mediums of art, they work with professional artists: spoken word artists, writers and illustrators, designers, sculptors and movement artists.

“All of these different pieces speak differently to each child and because we partner with creative professionals it exposes kids to a wide scope of creative industry jobs that a lot of the kids that we work with didn’t have previous knowledge of,” the executive director said.

“We are really striving to meet kids where they are as we use art as a way to show kids that they are important and their voices matter,” Shaw said.

For more information, visit https://paintlove.org