Arts Communities Visual Arts

Spotlight On: I Am Home Art Community

River of Fire. Michael Dorch, artist at Haywood Street Congregation, I Am Home art room.

Making Art Accessible to Those Experiencing Homelessness in Asheville

By Emma Castleberry

It all started with an ashtray. Janet Taylor purchased a handmade ashtray from a man on the streets of downtown Austin, TX, in 1998, at the behest of her young daughters. As she watched her children delight in their newly purchased treasure, she realized the power of art to create not only economic independence for people facing housing insecurities but also a sense of community and belonging. In 2017, Taylor moved to Asheville to establish the I Am Home Art Community, a nonprofit that provides a safe space to create and sell art for people who are unhoused or at risk of becoming unhoused. “I lived in Asheville 20 years ago and was aware of its rich appreciation of the arts and creating,” Taylor says. “Asheville also has a sympathetic heart towards those who suffer and are in need of help. With these ideas in mind, I decided Asheville would be the perfect place to create a home for the I Am Home Art Community.”

The nonprofit approaches its mission with a three-fold approach. The central component is a free art room hosted by Haywood Street Congregation. The space is open to anyone for a few hours twice a week, staffed by volunteers and stocked with plenty of art supplies.

Abbie Yandle, artist at Haywood Street Congregation, I Am Home art room.

“Providing access to art materials and creative space allows people impacted by homelessness to put themselves into a different physical and mental space where they are free to express themselves through art and in the process experience healing, dignity and hope,” says Taylor.

A second component of the nonprofit’s mission is the I Am Home studio and gallery located at Foundation Studios in the River Arts District, where artists can display and sell their work and keep the entirety of their profits. It’s also another space for creation and demonstration, connecting artists to the community in a more public studio.

Finally, I Am Home hosts periodical art shows and sales, many of which have been hosted by Ginger’s Revenge Craft Brewery. “You take home a meaningful piece of art while having a direct, positive impact on the lives of the artists,” says Taylor.

Abbie Yandle is an I Am Home artist who works in a variety of media, including crochet, pour painting, sacred geometry and assemblage.

“My art is inspired in many ways,” she says. “Sometimes it’s the stew of energies we are living in. Other times it’s the relationship of the line and the curve. Often, I can’t tell you how something was inspired initially, as it changes with the creation process.” Yandle was houseless for three years and says that “having a place to create, display and sell my art has been a significant part of my healing and recreating my life.”

I Am Home is always looking for volunteers to help out at the art rooms and studio spaces as well as various other duties. Folks can also support the program by donating art supplies or by making a financial contribution. “On average, it costs $100 a month per artist to provide art supplies and creative space and to support promotion of their art through the studio and art shows,” says Taylor. “We couldn’t do what we do without the generous support of volunteers and donors.”

Angela Wilkers volunteers with her 10-year-old son, Charlie, every Sunday in the I Am Home art room. “We paint and create our own art while also offering assistance and support to whoever comes in,” she says. “Mostly, we just get to know the artists and build relationships with everyone we meet.” The Wilkers family also helped out with a past exhibition at Ginger’s Revenge. “The show was an opportunity for the community to see a group of underserved and often invisible people as more than their worst circumstances, to see them as their best selves and see their talent and creativity,” Wilkers says. “The people participating in this program have overcome more challenges and stressors than I can imagine. Making art is one of the most therapeutic things a person can do. It’s a way for some of them to change their circumstances. For others, it’s just a safe place to spend an hour, to express themselves and to be seen and loved.”

Follow @IAmHomeArtCommunity on Facebook and Instagram for details about the fall exhibition. For more information, visit IAmHomeArtCommunity.org.

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