I've been involved with Bare Hands from its days as an art gallery which brought artists and the community members together for monthly exhibitions, movie screenings, musical happenings, and so much more. In 2003, Bare Hands hosted their first Day of the Dead celebration with 100+ people in attendance. In 2023, they hosted their 20th Day of the Dead Festival with over 8000 community members attending. The artist Tracy Martin's simple act of love and remembrance for her father Civil Rights photographer, Spider Martin, has had a profound and lasting effect on a the Birmingham community. The Bare Hands organization continues to have a far-reaching and essential impact on the Birmingham community. They give voice to underserved populations and give people the opportunity to celebrate the lives of lost loved ones. Bare Hands brings the community together in joy, sorrow, and celebration. Support them and their efforts to reach and teach and make our world a better place.
I lost my son and son-in-law 13 days apart in May of 2020. I attended the DDLM Festival that fall as a way to honor them and share my grief. It was a life-changing experience for me. While I was there, I met some members of the Bare Hands organization who invited me to join them in their volunteer activities for DDLM. I started volunteering at the warehouse doing prep work for the festival, as well as volunteering at the festival itself in 2021 and 2022. I also had the opportunity to volunteer at Taco Fest, another beautiful festival celebrating the beauty of culture in our city. I cannot begin to express how much volunteering and participating with Bare Hands and DDLM has meant to me. Not only have I had the opportunity to meet and work with some of the most amazingly talented artists and craftsmen in the country, I have also been embraced and loved during the darkest and most painful periods of grief I have ever known. Bare Hands is a community, and their mission to foster and grow cultural and artistic vision in and around Birmingham is beautiful. I am grateful to be apart of that vision.
Anyone who knows me knows that Dia de Los Muertos is my favorite thing. Period. The Birmingham festival has been near to my heart for many years. However, the meaning of Dia de Los Muertos as a whole, the art, the energy, and the common denominator that we all experience all over the world, loss, grief, death, is what really drives the depth and positive force behind this powerful experience that Bare Hands Inc is the force behind .Dia de los Muertos, is only one aspect of the special place we know as Bare Hands.
Bare Hands is working towards obtaining a space where we can further expand our interactions with people in the community. We desire to have more one on one art classes, educational events and a workspace for our public events.
What truly makes Bare Hands unique and set apart is the people involved with the agency and the loyal, dedicated volunteers who humbly work together, create cultural connections , build relationships and create a sense of community which is positive, uplifting, and non judgmental .
Volunteering with Bare Hands and being a part of Dia de los Muertos is something I truly cherish. I look forward to it and am INCREDIBLY thankful for Bare Hands as an agency.
While not an artist myself, I have really been blessed by this organization, especially volunteering with Dia De Los Muertos. I lost my 35 year old sister in 2021 and was lost in grief for a long time. In the Fall of 2021 I started volunteering in the warehouse to prep for Dia De Los Muertos in Birmingham. The people I worked with were so kind and so great discussing the grieving process and I got to channel the grief through art. My daughter joined me in 2022 to help and loves it now. Now working with this fabulous group is a family tradition that we love and look forward to.
I’ve been a volunteer for Bare Hands since 2014. Because I’m honored to be associated with this amazing group of people who bring arts, immersive arts experiences, and creative connections to our community, I'm also proud to donate to this amazing organization.
I’ve done a lot of volunteer work in my life and have never seen such hard working, professional, organized, and FUN people such as those at Bare Hands Gallery. They welcomed me with open arms and impressed me with their dedication and compassion. I feel lucky to have found such a lovely group of people.
Over the last twenty years, the Bare Hands Gallery has put on amazing programs such as their fabulous Dia de los Muertos celebration, which has become a beloved tradition for many people here in Birmingham. It is definitively one of my very favorites! Last year, I started being involved as a volunteer. I love the sheer creativity found and promoted by this organization. I am very much looking forward to participating more closely in all of their events and initiatives.