At All for Art, we believe that art is more
than just paint on canvas.
Our Work at a Glance
What We’re About
All for Art is a nonprofit which aims to provide people with art supplies and tutorials who would not have access to them otherwise, promote a love for art in children and adults, and assist them along their artistic journey. We especially work towards providing those in stressful situations an artistic outlet. To us, art is a powerful tool for healing and growth and we believe that giving everyone the opportunity to become artists and create their own masterpieces is an integral part of self expression, relaxation, and finding peace.
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I’ve never painted before All for Art started teaching painting classes at Bethany House. I didn’t think I would be very good at it at first. Still, as Hafsah kept coming back every week, I got better and better. I love painting now because of how it can make me feel. When I paint beaches or sunsets, I remember the beaches and sunsets back home in Venezuela. Chicago is so different from home, but I always remember my home and my family when I look at those paintings.
-Zwe, from Bethany House
Our Work in the Community
Bethany’s House
One way All for Art is working to spread art and its benefits to those who don’t have access to it is by organizing and teaching art classes at Bethany House, a center which houses women who are seeking asylum in the US. Most of these women have crossed the southern border and since then aged out of children’s detention centers. We’ve been holding art classes here since July 2022, in which we give the women an opportunity to both express themselves through and find relaxation in art. We provide supplies and instruction, leading the women through various painting projects which often involve serene landscapes and beautiful scenery. With our classes, painting has become one of the few activities that the residents at Bethany House have access to and one that they look forward to every week. I am happy to share that many of them have found solace and relief in painting and even do it in their free time.
ICNA Relief
We also teach art classes at ICNA Relief, a center which provides various services to Muslim refugees in the Chicagoland area. We created a weekly art program for the daughters of refugee families who receive assistance from ICNA Relief. In this program, we lead the girls through fun and creative painting projects that they really enjoy! We encourage creative expression in their projects and really push them to make their paintings truly their own. These girls are primarily attending schools which have limited art programs with low funding and don’t have the resources to make art at home. Our program gives them an opportunity to develop creatively and hone a unique artistic vision.
Our Big Events in the Community
All for Art also holds bigger events In addition to our regular art classes at various refugee/migrant centers. At these events, we give 50+ people at a time a chance to create art! Some of these events happen at places like police stations where there are over a hundred migrants from South America living and sleeping while they wait for shelters or supportive housing services to have enough space to accommodate them. All for Art goes to places like these where a large amount of people have no access to any activities and gives the people there a chance to create art!
Moments from Our Art Classes
During my time at Bethany House and ICNA Relief, I’ve been able to see firsthand how art has had wonderful effects on my students. There have been many memorable and touching moments throughout my classes, which I’ve created journal entries about. To the side is one of my favorite memories out of all that I’ve made while teaching. Names are censored for privacy purposes.
1/16/23: After class at Bethany House today, *** stopped me as I was about to leave. She tapped my shoulder and I turned around, waiting for what she was going to say. She pulled out her phone, and while looking at it, started telling me in choppy english, “Painting is… relaxing. I like beaches and the ocean especially because it looks like,” she paused to point to Venezuela on the map that was hanging on the wall. “Home,” she finished. I caught a fleeting glimpse of her phone and saw that she was reading from a script she wrote beforehand. She’s a newer refugee and still learning English, so I figured she must have prepared what she was going to say to me beforehand so she could fully express her thoughts. I was beyond touched that she felt this way about my painting classes, which aren’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but seem to be appreciated by the women at Bethany House so greatly. Hearing that painting scenes like that of the ocean or the beach are more enjoyable for the women because they remind them of home also made me really happy—this was proof that art has the power to heal and be a safe space for those who create it.
Finding Home: A Picture Book Made from Refugee Women’s Paintings
This picture book features paintings made by the women at Bethany House in many of its illustrations. For example, the cover art was painted by one of the women in our classes. I simply added the characters and other props/details on top of these backgrounds to create a cohesive storyline. In many ways, this book is theirs. I put together Finding Home to showcase the amazing work of these women. I’ve taught art classes at senior living homes, mental health centers, and so many other places. Still, nowhere else have I seen the same degree of passion and enjoyment of art that the Bethany House residents exhibit. There’s never a canvas that stays blank in the house for long or an art class where the women aren’t eagerly espousing ideas for what we should paint next as soon as we finish the current painting project. And their love for art shows—every single painting any one of them makes turns out beautiful everytime without fail. All proceeds made from the sale of this book will be given back to Bethany House and the women there.
Another way All for Art works to make art more accessible is by creating free online educational art content.
Check out our video tutorials to learn how to draw and paint using both modern and classical techniques, our blog posts for educational art information and interesting art history tidbits, and our art lesson plans if you need free, interesting, and low cost projects (and a related art history lesson) to either teach to students or do yourself.
Connecting with the Professional Art World
All for Art also works to connect to professional artists. The founder of All for Art, Hafsah Khan, also co-founded an art community outreach club at her highschool which partly revolves around bringing in professional artists as guest speakers to the highschool to talk to club members about their career, art, and inspirations. Illustrators, art school owners, product designers, Emmy award winners, and many others have all come to speak at Hafsah’s club!
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