Fresh Artists launched at a festive May celebration

Fresh Artists, a new, independent non-profit organization dedicated to providing art supplies to under-resourced Philadelphia public schools, was officially launched at the organization’s first annual May Celebration drawing more than 400 enthusiastic art donors and their admirers.

Barbara Chandler Allen, the organization’s Founder and Executive Director, was inspired to create Fresh Artists based on experiences she had as an arts consultant from 2005 to 2007. At the time, she was responsible for creating a permanent display of student art in the School District of Philadelphia's then-brand new 850,000 sq. ft. headquarters at 440 N. Broad Street. The photographic blow-ups of original student art now permanently affixed to the walls range in dimensions from 30 by 40 inches to 6 by 9 feet.

“So many people told me, ‘I’d like to own one of those,’ that I came to realize that there was a market for these vibrant, exciting images that could fund artmaking in inner city schools struggling with massive cutbacks in arts funding,” Chandler Allen explained.

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