Firebird is an amazing organization that supports, empowers and connects people through the healing practices of glassblowing and ceramics. We serve those who have been impacted by structural or individual trauma, including violently injured youth, veterans, formerly incarcerated individuals, undocumented and immigrant people. We bring together people living in a variety of neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Chicago. People come together at Firebird to learn from each other and to connect with one another. I am honored to be on the board of directors for this fabulous arts organization.
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I’ve not found an organization that has more dramatically & directly impacted young people, for the benefit of society than Art Reach.
I’ve watched the dramatic changes to gun violence victims, being transformed from physically & emotionally scarred into passionately expressive, positive young adults.
The hope that Art Reach offers them is something they would never receive from the government or society.
From the comfort & sharing of feelings with other victims-giving solace when none existed, thru guidance & scholarships in Education, personal management, etc...this is a remarkable organization.
The staff works tirelessly, for little financial remuneration, for the reward of healing our young treasured adults!
ArtReach is a great resource for the Chicago community. Their new facility offers a variety of arts programming for the public and for participants. It is sure to grow and develop into a staple of the community art scene. Worth a visit to their website and their community events!
There is nothing quite like working as a team with molten glass or shaping clay with your hands as it spins on the wheel. ArtReach uses these two media (glass and ceramics) to offer healing and build community. They hold social justice values that informs everything they do. Their new location in East Garfield Park is amazing--- truly a safe space where people learn and grow from each other and imagine different futures!
THE greatest impact one can make-is giving a hand UP to a young person!
It’s life changing-for the person you helped, for you, for society!
Make the change for others!
ArtReach Chicago takes an innovative approach to expanding access to the arts, healing, and social justice. It is exciting to see them grow in their work and mission as they move into their new space.
Art Reach helps underprivileged children by offering them a safe space where they can flourish their creativity through different forms of art. There, they learn that they are capable and that they have options. They design, create, and sell at fund raisers their own art, which even in if a little, makes them feel accomplished and appreciated. This type of empowerment has the potential to support their choices when they decide to avoid or stand against potentially harmful situations.
My favorite charity is my local ArtReach Chicago. Lots of people donate to the big ones, like the Red Cross, but ArtReach is helping fight and deal with violence at the local level right here in Chicago. ArtReach empowers and connects people through the practice of visual arts. To me, the best thing I can do is to donate to an organization that helps children. It is always good to help, but some people are in a bad situation. I think children should not be exposed to so much violence or suffer in any way and ArtReach is tackling those issues. ArtReach brings their professional teaching artists to your park, residential center, hospital, or social service agency to provide custom art programming to Chicago and their Firehouse Art Studio provides a safe space for diverse individuals to develop art skills.
Tricia H.
ArtReach does a great job delivering their mission of creating access to the visual arts and serving Chicagoans all over the city. The teaching artists working for ArtReach connect with participating youth and adults from varied backgrounds and facilitate meaningful art experiences. I am proud to serve on the board.
Art Reach is a wonderful organization that helps at risk kids stay out of trouble through art. What an amazing way to show kids how to express themselves in a meaningful way that is not sports.
Never have I interned with a nonprofit more passionate about using the arts to heal their community. The entire staff is full of amazingly dedicated people that genuinely care about providing quality arts program. In short, this non-for-profit is pretty amazing. Keep up the good work!
10 out of 10, would intern again!
For the last 9 months I have been a volunteer with ArtReach, supporting both the programmatic and administrative sides of the organization. I have been truly impressed with the thoughtful vision, inclusivity, compassion and creativity that I have witnessed in staff, interns and volunteers of this organization. Art has the ability to build confidence, provide stress relief and help people to find their voice. Everyone deserves the opportunity to experience that. ArtReach's staff takes its mission very seriously, providing the best possible visual arts programming to those who might not normally have access to it.
As an intern for Artreach, I've been able to witness the hard work and incredible passion put forth from the empowering staff who have been advocating and fundraising for the thousands of Chicago students who do not have access to the arts due to budget cuts and lack of funding in Chicago's public school system. Their genuine compassion and commitment to their cause makes ArtReach a magical organization!
ArtReach is a one-of-a-kind nonprofit in Chicago. There really isn't anyone else doing what they're doing! Keep spreading the art love.
I was lucky enough to be an intern at ArtReach, and I am so grateful to the organization for giving me so many opportunities to assist with programming and for helping me grow as an art educator! I truly feel that my experience working at Art Reach has been a springboard for my career. Thank you for everything!
I'm writing a review for community events and summer camps held at the FireHouse location in University Village. We are such huge fans of this organization in general and the FireHouse location, specifically! The community events have given us an opportunity to learn about glass blowing and to try our hand at clay creations, along with our neighbors. The atmosphere is always warm and inviting and the staff are very kind and helpful while also giving plenty of space to explore. Plus, the place is just plain COOL! As the oldest firehouse in Chicago, it is very historic and quaint. ArtReach has added lots of quirky details like stockinged legs (my kids tell me that they belong to "Dorothy" from the Wizard of Oz?) poking down from the firehouse holes in the ceiling. So fun!
The summer camps have been fabulous also! My kids report the camp as being perhaps their all-time favorite. They absolutely loved their teacher, Danny, describing his as gentle and patient while having a good handle on things. They engaged in lots of different activities - clay building, wheel throwing, "stained glass", origami, etc. They also spent some time outside, which they enjoyed. I am so happy that they had this chance to learn about art and creative self-expression in a safe and happy place. We're all excited about signing them up again next summer!
My daughter is participating in an after-school ArtReach class and loves it! Each week she is excited to tell me about what they've done in class. I would highly recommend this to any parent - particularly if your child is creative and/or interested in art...
ArtReach brings art programming to help those without access to the arts. It's an amazing community of volunteers, artists, teachers and just plain nice people.
Art Reach provides an essential service to the Chicago community: empowering individuals through art education. The staff and volunteers demonstrate a high level of professionalism and commitment to those they serve.
I've worked with many different art nonprofit organizations throughout Chicago, and ArtReach takes the cake in terms of the genuine compassion and expertise that the administration and teachers bring to their classrooms.
Art is a vehicle that has been denied to many children as cutbacks continue in our school system. Artreach provides a network of professional teaching artists to meet a population of underserved children and adults. My experience with Artreach has been two-fold both as an artist and observer. Their vision is far reaching and needs the continued support of the community. To watch a child touch a material such as clay for the first time or assemble a mosaic, is as rewarding as being the child experiencing with wonder.
As a volunteer I was looking for a nonprofit that helps foster creative expression in children who have limited access to the arts in their school(s). This is exactly what I've witnessed at Artreach and I'm so happy to be apart of the team and mission.
I began volunteering with Artreach about a year ago. The art programs they have are so necessary especially in a city where the school district may not be able to have a full time art teacher in every school. When the students have come to Lillstreet to do pottery I have seen how much fun they have. Having skills in leisure time activities is one way to keep students interested in socializing on a positive level. In addition, the more positive experiences with supportive adults a young person can have, the more they develop a good self-concept. We need more programs like the ones that Artreach provides!
I've enjoyed bringing various art experiences to new populations as a volunteer with ArtReach: non-English speaking mothers, elderly with dementia, homeless and youth in public schools. ArtReach is a well-managed and thoughtfully run organization with a lot of energy, excitement and passion!
I've been lucky to be involved in some of the events Artreach has hosted and I think they are an exceptional nonprofit. They are dedicated to art education in our community.
All four of my children attended last week's Artreach event at the firehouse. We were incredibly impressed by the number of work stations and the amount of art our children were able to engage in during a 1.5 hour period. Each child was able to throw on the wheel, as well as create open ended art with the clay at the large table. They loved getting messy, having independence, while also feeling like there were plenty of artists around to provide direction when they wanted it. We couldn't have been more pleased. Can't wait to return!
We attended an open ceramic studio at the Firehouse offered through ArtReach. My boys had a great time. Teachers were very helpful. Hope we'll get a chance to do more ArtReach programs! Thanks for coming to our 'hood.
As a mother of a Chicago public school student I am enthusiastically endorsing the work of ArtReach. It's so important to support more arts instruction for public schools, at this time when art programs in our schools have for the most part been eliminated. My daughter happened to benefit from a music program, and as with music, ArtReach's program offers a unique opportunity to students to realize their creative potential.
ArtReach is a much needed organization in Chicago. It has stability of being around for more than two decades and has solid programming that provides artistic experiences for all its participants.
ArtReach is a not for profit organization consisting of Teachers, Leaders (a wonderful Executive Director) and Participants that excel in bringing creativity and expression to the underserved communities of Chicago. ArtReach successfully brings art in many different mediums and in manners that both the young and elders are able to understand and participate in. The teachings and creativities have provided feelings of expression that builds strong self-esteems that last forever. ArtReach has also provided many different ways to communicate to those that may never have envisioned what art really is or can be; or, that they could do art themselves. ArtReach has influenced many circles of lives within various communities throughout the many years of its teachings. If ArtReach had been in existence when I was a kid, it probably would have influenced me in a whole difference direction of life.
ArtReach is a group that is truly passionate about bringing arts to the greater Chicago community. There's a reason they've been around for nearly 30 years! That's a lot of history right there! I'm having such a great experience volunteering for this organization and also learning so much at the same time. I've met really cool artists along the way too! Plus the new Executive DIrector is amazing! She is willing to go out of her way for people and definitely for those seeking arts opportunities. This organization is only going to get better with age :)
