Vanessa German is a multidisciplinary artist and poet. She has done TEDx talks at MIT, Harvard, and Pittsburgh. She lives in Homewood, a Pittsburgh neighborhood that The Rachel Maddow Show called, “One of America’s Most Violent Neighborhoods.” In response to that violence, German began inviting children to make art with her on her front porch. This club quickly outgrew her front porch and she found an empty house and dubbed it ARThouse. You can donate to her project here.

ARThouse is important. We need it because it provides a safe, creative environment for children and neighbors to come together, to experience the power and energy of their creative minds. It is doubly, tripley, quadruply important because all of this good happens in a neighborhood that most people don’t hear about unless something violent and tragic has occurred. It is important because the children in this neighborhood demanded it. Insisted upon having a space that they could walk to, to be safe, to be creative, to have fun, to discover and express themselves.