AFTS started with 3 friends coming together to create with the homeless in our community. They partnered with one of our Austin, TX shelters to provide an opportunity for their clients to create. As the program grew and the shelter needed their space regularly, we connected with a local church and were able to acquire space twice a week for Open Studio.

As of 2022, we now have 4 weekly sessions in our own studio space where persons experiencing homeless can create. We have created an online gallery where prints, originals, and merchandise are sold. We have implemented enriching workshops so our artists can gain knowledge and skills, we produce 5-7 art shows within the community and our gallery throughout the year as well as our big Annual Show and Sale — which is where it all started. 

This program goes beyond the creation and sale of art. Through AFTS, many of our artists are able to exit homelessness, however, homelessness has no simple solution. It cannot just be moved away or housed away without a plan to break the cycle that perpetuates it. Art From the Streets provides a critical daily practice in a learning environment filled with healthy role models to help create new positive habits. These habits foster well-being, health, and independence for our artists while building connections within a broader positive community — a community that can uncover latent resources such as jobs, housing, and support networks beyond the burdened and essentially closed loop of the homelessness system.

In honor of our 30th year, these next 9 DAYS you will have the opportunity to bid/purchase 6 LIMITED EDITION high-quality reproductions of the original 3 tables we have had in studio for the past 30 years. Your purchase is historic!

We are excited to share 30 years with you!

Sincerely,

Kelley Worden

Executive Director