We can support the natural development of autonomy and creativity by leaving people in control of how they spend their time. Harnessing the power of intrinsic motivation, fosters skill development, and helps people develop their sense of self. In order to make informed choices about how one spends their time, it’s useful to encounter new people, ideas, activities, cultures, and more. Exploring art requires the full space of what the world has to offer, and reflecting on our place in it, helps us figure out who we are and what we want.

We must fight for racial justice, alongside social justice, alongside disability justice, alongside climate justice; the pursuit for equality and justice in one realm must be accompanied by action in others. Artist@Heart is against all forms of oppression, including racism, colonialism, sexism, ageism, heterosexism, transgender discrimination, ableism, classism, religious discrimination, patriarchy, adultism, and other forms of oppression.

One part of being in community with other people is navigating the needs of others. While autonomy is also a core value of AAH, there must be limits when one person’s autonomy has negative externalities. At AAH we work to keep each other accountable - to call folks in when they transgress. Compassionate accountability also shows up as supporting others as they stretch to meet challenges, and helping them plan for the future.

The culture of consent extends to the governance model of the organization itself, where decisions are made while seeking consent and input of participating Members. To respect the needs of the community, we operate in accordance with iterative community agreements. This also extends to the sharing of resources - Members of the community will share responsibility for building up “the commons” alongside our organizing team.

I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.

— Helen Keller

Meaningful relationships and interactions with other people are a crucial component of our motivation and impetus for growth. AAH works to foster conditions where people have the opportunity to connect not only with their age-peers, but with people of all ages and backgrounds. The connections that people make with those of different generations are crucial avenues for learning more about ourselves and about the world, yet there are very few places where these interactions occur with regular frequency. AAH aims to be one of those places. Please do “talk with your neighbor”.

We actively work to reduce barriers to participation by providing sliding-scale membership and programming. We continuously learn and share our anti-oppression work, ensuring diverse representation and fostering a sense of belonging for all.

Artist at Heart is not a conventional top down learning space. Programs are community lead and promote self directed learning. Our facilitators don’t come with a pre-planned curriculum but instead a desire to share skills and experience and to assist in each artist finding there own voice and resources to accomplish their goals. .