ACW artists provide healing works for women’s supportive housing

A Northeast-based artists group has been selected to provide art for a new residence in St. Paul that helps formerly homeless families.

Twenty-three local Art to Change the World (ACW) artists were selected by a jury to create new or sell existing artwork for Emma Norton Services’ Restoring Waters. Emma Norton provides transitional housing and growth for women and families in recovery. 

Restoring Waters, a building recently opened in St. Paul’s Highland Bridge, provides supportive housing to 60 individuals and small families who have often experienced homelessness and trauma, and who have a mental health diagnosis, chemical dependency and/or other chronic health condition or disability. Read more: https://emmanorton.org. 

Barbara Bridges, ACW director, has been building ACW’s relationships and capacity over the past few years. In a coaching project, a scientist, an artist and a young adult were teamed to create art for Emma Norton’s Sensory Room. For that project, one of ACW’s donors introduced Bridges to Shawna Nelsen-Wills, the advancement director of Emma Norton. Nelsen-Wills loved the coaching project and started working with ACW to develop art classes for residents of the new building. 

At the same time Emma Norton had been working on a campaign to build Restoring Waters as part of the redevelopment of the former Ford plant site. Over time, Nelsen-Wills sought advice from Bridges on what an arts room would look like and need to be successful. The process blossomed and they decided the residents should each receive an original piece of art. The Heart + Home Artworks project was developed.

Emma Norton Services has purchased approximately 90 medium-sized works at $300 each. The agency sought artwork that promotes healing and empowerment, and helps residents feel safe and supported. Sixty works will belong to the new Restoring Waters residents and the remaining 30 artworks will be placed in common areas. 

Another objective is to create a community among the residents and staff of Emma Norton and the Art to Change the World artists for further collaboration in the new space, including art classes in the new art room on site.

Restoring Waters Artists chosen were Lori Blanchard, Carmen Gutierrez-Bolger, Madeline (Lin) Boemer, Lynnette K. Black, Barbara Bridges, Sam Connaire, Kat Corrigan, Kelly Frankenberg, Rebecca Froehlich, Toni Gallo, S Robin Getsug, SAM Greene, Mindy Johnson, Anna Karena, Natalie McGuire, Cynthia Mauleon, Layl McDill, Kim Anne Reedich, Samantha St. John, Jennifer A. Schultz, Lucienne Schroepfer, Sadie Ward and Briauna Williams.

Nelsen-Wills said, “Emma Norton’s partnership with Art to Change the World has been incredible and added so much value to our new supportive housing residence Restoring Waters. Emma Norton residents often come directly from homelessness and have faced much violence and trauma. By empowering local artists through ACW — including several current and past Emma Norton residents — to create healing artwork, we are building community and providing our residents with a beautiful piece of original artwork to help their apartments feel like home. 

“We are also excited to start art classes with ACW artists in our new art room in the fall—adding another layer of healing through art into our partnership. I am so grateful to Tom Fulton for connecting us to Barbara and ACW, and for their shared vision of utilizing art to help change the world.”