About Us

“If our children are unable to voice what they mean, no one will know how they feel. If they can't imagine a different world, they are stumbling through a darkness made all the more sinister by its lack of reference points. For a young person growing up in America's alienated neighborhoods, there can be no greater empowerment than to dare to speak from the heart-and then to discover that one is not alone in one's feelings.” 

– Rita Dove, former U.S. Poet Laureate

For many of our city’s emerging citizens, the young people (who make up 18% of the population, according to the 2010 census) are not getting the creative outlet they need to develop those skills that are so vital to the 21st century: a sense of self-worth, teamwork, conflict resolution, creative thinking, and hope for their future. This is true in our public school system and even truer for our vulnerable young people who deal with abuse, violence, and poverty, are transient, identify as LGBTQ or live with physical or intellectual disabilities.
 
At ART 180, we create and provide art-related programs for young people living in challenging circumstances, encouraging personal and community change through self-expression. Our community lives and works in Richmond, Virginia.
 
We believe that our work with young people will turn lives and communities around 180 degrees.
 

Our Mission

ART 180 gives young people ages 8-18 living in challenging circumstances the chance to express themselves through art, and to share their stories with others. For 20 years, ART 180 has served Greater Richmond by offering outlets in creative expression for young people and the communities in which they live and go to school. Our programs complement the services provided by our partners, and our work provides a vital service by addressing the need for quality after school programs for youth in our community. Over the years, we have served thousands of young people, celebrated their creative expressions through innumerable showcases and events, and immortalized their ideas and aspirations in murals and other forms of public art that brighten communities across Richmond.
 

Our Operating Model

ART 180 partners with other nonprofit organizations to serve youth, ages 8 to 18, living in challenging circumstances in Richmond, Virginia. We also operate an art center for teens, called Atlas, in the Arts & Cultural District.
 
In addition to the programs at Atlas, ART 180 staff and our Teen Leadership Council operate and manage a community gallery that showcases a rotating set of exhibitions targeting or featuring work by youth.
 
Click here to see our current community program offerings 

Click here to see our current teen program offerings 

Click here to learn about our juvenile justice program with Legal Aid Justice Center
 

Financials

2018 annual report, click here
2017 Audited Financial Statement, click here 
2017 IRS Form-990, click here 

We Believe in Young People

Each young person is a valuable part of our community. We promise to offer a supportive and nurturing environment, which allows our young people an opportunity to bring into being the beauty that exists within their creative spirits.

We Believe in Creative Expression

Everyone will be free to be an artist who can give birth to a masterpiece, because we recognize that innovation is the heartbeat of growth.

We Believe in Communication

We seek to provoke ideas and stimulate conversation that encourages self-awareness and expression of diverse perspectives, remove barriers of fear, create a better understanding of humanity, and illuminate hope.

We Believe in Compassion

We advocate kindness to heal division and resolve conflicts, because everyone has a right to be heard, to experience love, and to be treated with dignity and mutual respect.

We Believe in Community

We value the importance of collaborative relationships, which celebrate diversity. We recognize that by sharing together we're capable of making even greater creative contributions that can enhance the well-being and quality of life for the whole.

We Believe in Change

We embrace change as a gift that empowers young people to transform our world through creative expression. It provides opportunities to be passionately engaged in a natural process of learning, challenging complacency and discovering opportunities to live a meaningful life.