Hanging art in your home is a great way to express your tastes and interests.
Housing Families First, a nonprofit organization that assists families facing homelessness, is celebrating how art can turn a house into a home.
Their signature event, The Art of Housing, will make artwork from Richmond artists — such as Mickael Broth, Emily Herr, Hamilton Glass and more — available for auction to help families facing homelessness.
Housing Families First, located in Henrico’s east end, gives families facing homelessness the opportunity to build a legacy for their families by providing a path to a permanent home.
“A permanent home is that starting point for all the other things you want to do in life. We do that through responding to crisis and helping people move in to communities and we’ve also added a youth housing program,” said Beth Van-Turnbull, Housing Families First’s executive director.
The organization’s Hilliard House is a short-term emergency shelter that houses up to 40 children and adults who are on their way to a permanent home but need a safe and supportive space in-between.
The nonprofit’s other core programs are the Building Neighbors rapid re-housing program and Bringing Families Home, a partnership program with local school districts.
When the people that they are working with are able to find a home, move in, sign a lease and are able to put their kids’ art on the refrigerator or put up a family picture, that is the moment the house becomes a home, Van-Turnbull said.
“That is the moment they’re like, ‘Okay, this is really going to be my home.’ Because people don’t trust that when they’ve been in transition,” she said.
The Art of Housing will be hosted at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts at 200 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd. in the Marble Hall on Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. The event will include food, drinks, music and a silent auction featuring donated artwork from local artists.
The artists and pieces selected for The Art of Housing auction were curated by artist and muralist Broth, known as The Night Owl, and Elizabeth Dolan Wright, founder of The Common Wealth Public Art Fund.
“Having Mickael and Elizabeth who are so influential in the public arts space connecting home, community and everybody’s place in it has been amazing,” said Van-Turnbull.
Broth’s piece titled “My Front Porch is my Paradise” features Broth’s idealized version of home inside a snow globe.
“I’m stoked to be a part of The Art of Housing event and to help out any way I can,” Broth said. “It’s the things that make a place a home as opposed to just a place you’re staying at. There is a feeling of comfort (when you’re) hanging art on the wall.”
More local artists participating in the event include Steve Bickley, Peter Cochrane, DKane, Hamilton Glass, Emily Herr, Jeromyah Jones, Jerome W. Jones Jr., Nikki Leone, Matt Lively, Sylvio Lynch III, Naomi McCavitt, Eli McMullen, Karen Roodman, Noah Scalin and Sandy Williams IV.
This is the third year for the event. Last year, The Art of Housing raised more than $70,000. This year, organizers say they’ve already reached that amount, thanks to strong sponsor support and ticket sales.
The bidding prices for artwork start as low as $25 for “Afternoon Together” by Elliot Hubbard and up to $1,250 for “Witness: Kathmandu” by Noah Scalin. The bidding for Broth’s “My Front Porch is my Paradise” starts at $500.
It’s easy to leave behind your wallet or headphones, but how about a tub of yams?
Beth Vann-Turnbull, the executive director for Housing Families First, said a “permanent home is that starting point for all the other things you want to do in life. We do that through responding to crisis and helping people move in to communities and we’ve also added a youth housing program.”
Mickael Broth is a Richmond artist also known as Night Owl. Broth’s piece titled “My Front Porch is my Paradise” features Broth’s idealized version of home inside a snow globe.
Art from local Richmond artists is displayed at Housing Families First. The Art of Housing event will put up artwork for auction from Richmond artists such as Mickael Broth, Emily Herr, Hamilton Glass and more to help families facing homelessness.