Mission: Barefoot Artists seeks to bear witness to the forgotten and the oppressed, and works to share their stories with the broader public to promote understanding and action.
It seeks social change through innovative methodology and empowerment of people at the grassroots level.
It seeks social change through innovative methodology and empowerment of people at the grassroots level.
Barefoot Artists, Inc., a nonprofit arts organization, was established in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its founding director Lily Yeh utilizes the concept and model proven in her 20 years of work in inner city North Philadelphia at the Village of Arts and Humanities and in other disenfranchised communities in the United States and around the world including, Kenya, Ghana, China, and Rwanda, among others. This work was recognized nationally and internationally through a number of prestigious awards and significant financial investment from foundations and government agencies.
Barefoot Artists brings the transformative power of art to the most impoverished communities in the world through participatory and multifaceted projects that foster community empowerment, improve the physical environment, advance economic development, and preserve and promote indigenous art and culture. Barefoot Artists develops projects in collaboration with individuals and/or agencies on the ground in identified communities. Art in this context becomes a vehicle for amplifying and coordinating existing efforts through projects that inspire individuals and physically transform communities. The collective process used in these projects fosters community pride while allowing participants to experience a sense of individual accomplishment.
Since 2002, with the help of volunteers and participants, Barefoot Artists has implemented projects with community groups and non-government organizations to build people, families and communities through art and economic development in Kenya, Rwanda and China.
Barefoot Artists brings the transformative power of art to the most impoverished communities in the world through participatory and multifaceted projects that foster community empowerment, improve the physical environment, advance economic development, and preserve and promote indigenous art and culture. Barefoot Artists develops projects in collaboration with individuals and/or agencies on the ground in identified communities. Art in this context becomes a vehicle for amplifying and coordinating existing efforts through projects that inspire individuals and physically transform communities. The collective process used in these projects fosters community pride while allowing participants to experience a sense of individual accomplishment.
Since 2002, with the help of volunteers and participants, Barefoot Artists has implemented projects with community groups and non-government organizations to build people, families and communities through art and economic development in Kenya, Rwanda and China.
