Urban ArtWorks and MicroMatching

Every week at 52andChange we introduce a different inspiring and effective nonprofit to our microgiving community and raise (and match) as many $1 - $10 gifts as we can to support their work. It’s the power of collective giving!

This week (drumroll please) we bring you Urban ArtWorks! Nonprofits are proving that access to art programming can be life-changing, and Urban Artworks is no exception. Since 1995, Urban ArtWorks has served communities in the greater Seattle area through an empowering program model that brings youth together with professional teaching artists to create inspiring public art.

Urban ArtWorks empowers young people to tell their own stories and envision more equitable futures through a participatory art making process, creating pathways for underserved youth to become community muralists and arts educators.

They accomplish this through four core programs that include paid training and stipends, because they believe that artists should be paid for their work! Click here for more details.

“My experience working at Urban ArtWorks has been incredible. Since childhood, I’ve loved creating art, but was raised believing it could only be a hobby. I didn’t start taking art seriously until I created my first mural in response to the Black Lives Matter Movement. This opportunity allowed me to express feelings that I couldn’t otherwise describe in words. For the first time, I felt that art was meaningful and significant. My love for art led me to Urban ArtWorks.”

— Ethan Lin, a former Mural Apprentice and current Urban ArtWorks Teaching Assistant

We’re so grateful for the nonprofit heroes at Urban ArtWorks! Find links to follow their work on social media and learn more here.

Thanks for helping us make a difference this week by giving a few dollars to support their tireless work and spreading the word. If we all give a little together, we can change the world!