Barefoot Artists, Inc. is a nonprofit arts organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that uses the power of art to transform impoverished communities. Founded in 2003 by Lily Yeh, Barefoot Artists aims to train and empower local residents, organize communities, and take action for a more compassionate, just and sustainable (better) future.
Using the concept and model proven in her 20 years of work in inner city North Philadelphia at the Village of Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia and in other poor communities in the States, Yeh works on projects in Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, Ecuador, China, and Rwanda, among others.
As the name implies, Barefoot Artists is a volunteer organization with few encumbrances of staff and overhead. Yeh raises funds for specific projects that pair volunteer expertise with local people to improve environment, advance health, education, and economic development. When funds are raised for a project, a call for volunteers is held and a group of volunteers and some paid staff are organized.
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During the project process, participants learn Barefoot Artists methodology on community building and economic development through art. We aim to inspire the participants such that they will take initiative to start their own projects, bring other volunteers, funding sources and new opportunities to the communities in need. We intend that the various programs initiated by volunteers become multi-faceted and inter-connected so as to better serve the communities.
To read more about the Village and see photos of the projects, please click here.
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About Lily Yeh
From 1986 - 2004, Lily Yeh served as the co-founder, executive director, and lead artist of The Village of Arts and Humanities, a non-profit organization with the mission to build community through art, learning, land transformation and economic development. Under her leadership of 18 years, the summer park building project developed into an organization with 20 full-time and part-time employees, hundreds of volunteers, and a $1.3 million budget. The Village became a multi-faceted community building organization with activities such as after-school and weekend programs, greening land transformation, housing renovation, theater, and economic development initiatives. The center worked on local, national, and international
projects, and was a leading model of community revitalizations throughout the country.
Yeh developed a unique methodology for using the arts as a tool
for community building and personal transformation during her tenure at the Village. "Warrior Angel: The Work of Lily Yeh" by Bill Moskin and Jill Jackson, a paper on her methodology
of using art to transform and build community, is available for download.
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2006 Presentations
Design Award for Barefoot Artists Inc., from SEGD (Society for Environmental Graphic Design) 2006 for The Rwanda Healing Project, Cyanzarwe District, Rwanda, (Lily Yeh, lead artist and project director)
Lead Artist & Strategist, "Bridges Over Barriers Art Project," sponsored by The Salt Lake Neighborhood Housing Services, Salt Lake City, Utah
Lead Presenter, CWDA 2006 Conference, sponsored by The County Welfare Directors Association of California, Oct., Ventura, CA
Speaker, "How the Arts Change and Sustain Communities," Women Scholars Group Speaker Series, University of Lethbridge College, Alberta, Canada
Speaker, "Aesthetics, Community Building and Ethics," the 2006 John M. Rezendes Visiting Scholar in Ethics, sponsored by the Honors College at the University of Maine, Orono, ME
Member, Fellowship of Reconciliation, May delegation to Iran on a peace mission
Visiting-Artist-in-Residency, the first Creative Retreat at the Murie Center, Moose, WY
Speaker, "The Rwanda Healing Project," with Terry Tempest Williams, at National Museum of Wildlife Art, Moose, WY
Keynote Speaker, "Creativity, Transition, and Transformation," at Texas Arts Exchange: Tools for Success, conference in August, Austin, TX
Keynote Speaker, "Creativity, Community Building and Development," at the conference - a Creative Economy: Reconnecting People through Media and Urban Resources presentations, sponsored by Arts Interface Creative Group, Springfield, OH
Conducting two workshops: "Community building through storytelling and painting" and "Community builoding through sound and movement" at CWDA (The County Welfare Directors Association of California) 2006 Conference in Ventura, CA
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