Our Story
Who are we?
The Unframed Arts Collective began as a group of college students/graduates that witnessed firsthand the difficulties related to housing insecurity and came together to design a program devoted to serving New Yorkers experiencing financial hardships.
We started at a soup kitchen serving approximately 4-5 guests with a space devoted to delivering art therapy and conversation and have blossomed into a space that serves 30 guests or more per session and is devoted to providing not only accessible art spaces, but also a variety of resources and services to individuals in need.
We have been proudly serving the diverse New York community for over a year now. The collective is now made up of both the volunteers that have grown the space as well as the community members that frequent the space and find solace in our community.
What do we do?
Our programs have grown as we’ve accommodated the different populations that utilize our space and considered how else we can serve the community. We now offer a community library, ‘take-out’ art activities for kids, and school supplies for all ages. We offer housing and vocational services and English as a second language resources.
Recently added to our offerings is the addition of writing workshops, the creation of a community post board that can be a resource for our guests, schoolwork support, as well as the opportunity for tabling for different community-based organizations that can use our space. As we continue to assess our communities needs, we have begun an employment opportunities program as well as case by case support services for individuals who are in urgent need of housing or other resources.
Why do we do it?
Our guests are a population that undoubtedly remains underserved in our current social, political, and economic climate. They navigate their day-to-day feeling unheard by the world. We make it our mission to ensure our guests feel heard, acknowledged, seen, and respected.
We give our guests the space and materials to create art through various mediums where they showcase their creativity that would otherwise go unrecognized. All of our workshops range from being a space with a variety of artist grade materials open for experimentation by our guests to focused workshops teaching particular skills in a variety of mediums.
The arts are meant to mitigate common inequalities by uplifting our guest’s self-expression and healing. In its various forms, the arts are a method of storytelling that demands the artist's story, heart, and soul be heard, known, and remembered and it is our mission to ensure that every guest in our space is honored and heard.