About Us
Our Story
Free Arts NW was founded by Kris Bella and Sylvia Hartowicz in 2009. Kris and Sylvia had a powerful vision of positively impacting the lives of youth and developing community within the Portland metro area by utilizing various forms of art.
Free Arts NW is modeled after and affiliated with the national Free Arts movement that provides various forms of access to the arts to children and youth throughout the United States.
Beginning solely with Kris and Sylvia, Free Arts NW has become a movement of mentors, volunteers and partners within the Portland metro area who believe in the value of our youth and understand that art is an effective way to engage youth in sharing their voices with the community.
Our Core Principals
These four principles are the lens through which we organize our mission and our work directly with young people. They compound the transformative qualities of art to provide powerful opportunities for growth.
Interdependence
Interdependence is about bringing out the best in each other. Through interdependence youth learn to become resourceful, by recognizing resources and learning how to seek help in their environment. Further, interdependence teaches youth to learn how their actions impact others, thus to take responsibility for their role. Steven Covey, author of the best- selling Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, stresses that interdependence is a characteristic of the most successful people. Truly happy and healthy people are neither dependent nor independent; they are interdependent.
Free Arts NW inspires a sense of interdependence and mutual support among the youth we work with. We most commonly work in groups and process how one’s behaviors may impact the success or failure of the entire group. Participation in community arts projects provides lessons in interdependence. All of the participants rely on one another and will join together for the accomplishments of the group.
Belonging
All humans have a fundamental need to be accepted and valued by others. Celebrated psychologist, Abraham Maslow identified the “belonging need” as an essential need for human development and survival. The sense of belonging and group acceptance empowers youth – through a nurturing and safe environment – to face challenges, to seek and receive support, and to build self-esteem.
Free Arts NW creates a space where children and adolescents feel safe, comfortable and accepted. They are guided by inspiring, professional artists who also serve as nurturing mentors. Free Arts NW establishes an environment that fosters positive peer relationships and encourages learning new skills and facing challenges together. When youth are able to develop a sense of belonging within a group, their ability to explore their artistic talents and expressions can flourish.
Accomplishment
Youth benefit greatly from setting and achieving meaningful goals. Goals are highly individual and may vary from learning how to operate a complicated camera, to finishing a drawing, to working through fears and self-doubt to try something new. When youth are successful in pursuing goals, they learn to navigate challenges and they build their self-esteem.
Free Arts NW works with individual youth to help them identify and realize their potential. We focus our energy on self-respect and respect from others, with the conviction that youth face barriers and overcome them when resources and effective support are made available. These are important life lessons that serve the youth well in their lives outside of the art room. Our facilitated projects garner a sense of accomplishment and pride in one’s work. We frequently display finished art in the community, further eliciting pride and building self-esteem as works are admired by the community.
Generosity
Feeling a sense of contribution, selflessness, and generosity is essential for healthy development. When youth learn about the needs of others and challenging social issues, they develop empathy and their horizons are broadened. When youth learn that they can make a difference through contributing their time, talent, or work, they learn to value the impact they can have. Society often overlooks the great contributions that youth have to offer. In fact, youth thrive on helping: saving the environment, caring for animals, helping senior citizens, teaching what they know to younger and needier kids, or raising funds for people who are suffering. Feeling like a contributing member of a group is an important part of what make youth well-balanced, caring people.
Free Arts NW facilitates generosity by working with youth on projects that are often donated to improve a community space or brighten somebody’s day that is in need. We frequently ask youth to give away the art they have invested their creative efforts in. Through these sacrifices, youth learn how to give freely without expecting anything in return.
