A beacon of opportunity for marginalized artists, particularly those experiencing homelessness in Windsor Ontario Canada.

What we offer

heArt from the Streets is dedicated to enriching the community through creative expression and social impact. We aim to destigmatize homelessness while providing a secure and nurturing environment, equipping artists with the supplies and a safe space to express themselves creatively.

01 — Safe and Supportive Environment

Ensure the physical host space is welcoming, safe, and conducive to creativity.

02 — Access to Art Supplies

Establish a system to provide artists with the necessary art supplies free of charge.

03 — Workshop and Training Programs

Provide mentorship opportunities with experienced artists to help build skills and confidence. Develop workshops and training programs that address the specific needs of individuals dealing with homelessness.

04 — Community Engagement

Foster a sense of community among the participating artists by organizing regular gatherings, meetings, or collaborative projects to encourage peer support and collaboration to create a network of artists who can inspire and uplift each other.

05 — Community Partnerships

Collaborate with local organizations, shelters, and mental health facilities to identify and reach out to potential artists.

06 — Documentation and Storytelling

Share the stories and experiences of the artists involved through various media channels to raise awareness about the challenges faced by marginalized individuals and the transformative power of art.

Articles

Projects

heArt from the Streets exhibit at Artspeak Gallery - 2024

In 2024, we hosted a series of mixed media art workshops in Windsor-Essex shelters, including H4 (Housing Homelessness Help Hub), the Windsor Youth Centre (WYC), and the Welcome Centre Shelter. These workshops provided a safe and supportive space for participants to explore their creativity and develop their artistic skills.To further showcase their talent, artists had the opportunity to exhibit their work at Artspeak Gallery (Arts Council Windsor & Region). They were also given the option to auction their pieces, with all proceeds (minus unavoidable processing fees) going directly to the artists. Through these efforts, over $3350 was raised and directly benefited participants in our art workshops!

"1000 Burgers" Made in YQG Collaboration - 2024

Inspired by a local influencer's misrepresented donation claims (1000 burgers), this project aims to turn adversity into opportunity by supporting and empowering local artists experiencing homelessness.

Previous Projects

"Colors of Resilience" 2023

In its first year, Heart from the Streets (formerly Colors of Resilience) launched its inaugural exhibit, showcasing the talents of marginalized artists and raising nearly $3,000 entirely for the artists involved.

Meet the team

"Colors of Resilience" - 2023

With a successful debut exhibition that raised funds solely for the artists, heArt from the Streets demonstrated the transformative power of art in promoting inclusivity, equality, and creativity within the community.This initial success served as a learning opportunity, inspiring the program to expand and improve its offerings, with a focus on increasing community involvement, fostering artist development, and amplifying its impact.

How to support heArt from the Streets/Upcoming Events

Find us at Artcite Inc. (998 Drouillard) twice this year, save the dates:
July 16th-29th, and November 5th-18th! All artworks submitted will be available for
silent auction online, and available for viewing in person.To stay up to date on our upcoming events, launches and project details please follow @heartfromthestreets @madeinyqg on instagram

If you like what we are doing in the community, a share would mean the world to us!Please tag us and use #heartfromthestreets #madeinyqg if you visit our mural in Ford City!

The Thought Behind the Project
by Batool “Batoolio” Yahya

HeArt from the Streets, the project formerly known as “Colors of Resilience,” was created in 2023 as a response to the disadvantage that talented artists face while living on the streets due to extenuating circumstances beyond their control.HeArt from the Streets aims to uplift marginalized voices, and provide artists, at all skill levels, facing homelessness to the extent of accessing shelter services in Windsor-Essex, equal opportunity to showcase their art shoulder-to-shoulder with artists who can access this platform more easily. This project aims to address homelessness using a different approach than the favoured Housing First model that is deeply ingrained within shelter systems. Before we get into it: thank you to the City of Windsor’s Arts, Cultural, and Heritage Fund who provided us with grant funding for 2023, and 2024 to put on a city-wide opportunity for our most marginalized members of the community to have the chance to “make it as an artist,” just like the rest of us. Let’s get into it.Housing First is a model created by Dr. Sam Tsemberis, as an attempt to end homelessness. This model hinges on a couple of things: firstly, it uses Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as the basis for justifying its message of “providing folks with housing above all else will get them out of homelessness.”Secondly, this model was created under the guise that shelter systems who implement Housing First will be able to provide their clients with the second, third, and fourth thing that comes after finding them housing.The idea Dr. Tsemberis presents is that we often see marginalized people — those with deep-rooted traumas, the generationally impoverished, those with mental health and/or substance use issues, or history of domestic violence — be put in a position where they “have to prove” that they deserve something as basic as a roof over their head. He didn’t agree with that. He stated the (at the time) radical notion that all people deserved a roof over their heads, and thus was born the Housing First model. The Housing First model says that if someone experiencing homelessness is provided with permanent housing above everything else on Maslow’s Hierarchy (see below), that person will then have the ability to meet everything else on the hierarchy on their own/with post-housing support.The issue with this is that it rarely works for many reasons, and is often the cause of high rates of recidivism, or re-entering homelessness. It doesn’t factor in adverse trauma, related experiences, survivor’s guilt, and is essentially throwing our most vulnerable members of the community into the deep end of the pool and forcing them to learn how to swim without even so much as a floatie. The reason we see such high rates of transient homelessness in Windsor is because this model ultimately fails its user, and up until very recently, was not implemented to its fullest extent. While everyone is created equally, some are forced into lives where they know traumatic experiences more than they know birthday parties, and this is why this model fails. You cannot expect a soul to survive the harshness of a cruel world when all they’ve known is how bad it can be.

So, this is the thought behind the project: we must show our community that the world can be kind, and that they have the tools to bring this kindness out of themselves by changing their perspective. What happens if we flip Maslow’s Hierarchy on its head, and give people experiencing homelessness a chance to fulfill their self-actualization needs above all else?To self-actualize means to fulfill your other-worldly duty that’s given to you at birth. It poses the question of: who would you be if the world you were born into didn’t spend most of its time telling you who not to be? What would you do, if you had a voice that was heard by the masses, what would you communicate and what would you say? To “self-actualize” is to step into your innate human and creative power, and with the workshops provided by HeArt from the Streets, everyone is given the same opportunity to show up for themselves.So, what happens? Well, you get people who: start engaging in housing services, and are able to keep their housing. Some go back to school and pick up an artsy subject to study, like fashion design, others start Instagram accounts and gain a following for their craft. Some even get the opportunity to tell their story to audiences tuning into CTV, or CBC! Above all else, you remind people of their humanity. So, now you’re housing folks, giving them a chance to revitalize their identity, and even just practically, helping these folks with exposure to the arts scene, fulfill dreams they never thought would be fulfilled in this lifetime, and helping them make money!In 2023, I met Ann Reno while working at H4 – she was the reason I applied for the grant in the first place. I felt an instant connection with her, and knew there was something special about her creative ability. When I asked to get a closer look at the green boots she’d been drawing on, Ann Reno pulled out the portfolio of works she’d been carrying around in her backpack for as long as she’d been on the streets. Ann Reno visited us at Waterworld, not for housing services, but rather to find solace in the casual day-to-day services like snacks, and meals, and often you’d find her in the corner of the gym creating visual masterpieces while a 2014 romcom or some other movie streaming on Netflix was projected onto the former indoor waterpark’s wall. Under bleak circumstances, she sought refuge in the creation of other-worldly concepts by bringing them to life through surrealist pencil sketches. Ann Reno was the inspiration behind the project, because if there was room for me, a self-taught abstract expressionist artist, then surely there would be room for a very talented surrealist sketch artist.The first grant received to put this project on was for $1,072 and with 5 dedicated volunteers, 3 months, and a lot of paint, we managed to pull off the first rendition of this project that saw over 60 pieces of art, and hosted 30 artists! Every single piece of Ann’s artwork sold for tenfold the amount she was asking for while on the streets, and she was our first client housed as a result of this project. Thanks to a very generous supporter of the project, every single piece in the show was purchased which meant all of our artists were paid full commission off of their piece, coming to a grand total of a little under $3,000 distributed to those artists.The second time we applied to the City of Windsor’s ACHF, we managed to get full funding, meaning we had a new budget of $5,000 to work with! This meant growing our dedicated volunteer base to double its size (and being able to pay them all!), hiring professionals to help with installation, ensuring we factored in an honorarium for all of our participating heArtists, buying art supplies, paying two of our heArtists to paint a mural, and venue rental, and giving one of our heArtists the chance to perform at the reception. This project grew much bigger than I had expected in so little time! By 2024’s show, we had 206 pieces of artwork showcased at Artspeak Gallery in August, where we were able to distribute (including honorariums) a little over $3,000 to our participating artists! That’s not all! In 2024, we partnered with madeinyqg to activate The 1000 Burger Project where our heArtists were asked to design their interpretation of a burger, with the intent to put these designs on shirts to help create passive income for our participating heArtists, give this project a chance to be self-fulfilling, and create some really cool merch for our amazing supporters! It’s a win all around.This show also takes a screenshot of our current community of folks experiencing homelessness, capturing their experience, and on one occasion, reuniting families with their worlds after untimely passings. To sum it up, this project works. It’s a less traditional pathway to addressing homelessness by addressing the root cause: lack of genuine community. When our people know that they can rely on us to show up and paint with them every week, to give them the supplies they need, and to meet them where they’re at in their artistic journey, we build genuine, authentic communal spaces that aren’t dependent on substances or social expectations. HeArt from the Streets is all about facilitating space to create and encouraging our participants to explore outside of their comfort zone in a safe, and teachable manner.Thank you for reading this far into the article, “the thought behind the project.”Find us at Artcite Inc. (998 Drouillard) twice this year. Save the dates: July 16th–29th, and November 5th–18th! All artworks submitted will be available for silent auction online, and available for viewing in person.

If you like what we are doing in the community, a share would mean the world to us!Please tag us and use #heartfromthestreets!

How to Spend Grant Money (like a BOSS)
by Batool “Batoolio” Yahya

So you just got funding approval for your first grant? Congratulations!Now you can get to bringing your dream creative project to life, with the help of your respective funders (ie Municipal Government funding, local arts institute funding, business funding, Provincial Government funding), within the confines of your funded project.This is what I did when I got approval for funding by the Arts, Cultural, Heritage Fund (ACHF) of the City of Windsor.Thanks, hotties at the city (respectfully).What did I know I needed for this project:venue spaceworkshop suppliesartist feesreception essentialsTo start, I know I needed a venue to host the curated collection of works.This led to me looking into my options in my city, which ultimately led to me landing on choosing ArtSpeak Gallery for 2 weeks available during the summer, August 13-27.This felt like the most appropriate option because of its size, its purpose of existence, and its connection to Arts Council Windsor Region.These reasons felt most in line with the purpose of this project, which was to expose the artists to the arts community of Windsor as an attempt to uplift them from their current circumstances.MASLOW’S HIERARCHY UPSIDE DOWN.Cost of venue rental:$400 + $20 membership ($80 membership discount) + $100 key depositRunning total:$1080 - $420 - $100 = $560New budget: $560
Still need:workshop suppliesartist feesreception essentialsWorkshop supplies include your basics, like canvases, paints, paintbrushes, multimedia options, and snacks for the attendees.These workshops were done across 3 different shelter programs, including Welcome Centre, H4, and WYC.Materials acquired:primary colors acrylic paintblack and white acrylic paintpaint brushescanvases - various shapes, sizes, optionsmultimedia purposed itemssnacksframesindividual art supplies for individual artistsMoney spent: $345.34$560 - $70 - $345.34
New running total: $144.66With X amount leftover, I still had to cover artist fees and reception essentials.Artist fees are important to note when applying for your grant, and fairly adjusting the charge according to amount actually received.For example, when I applied for the grant I received 1/4 of the funding I initially asked for (someone mentioned I shoot for the moon when it came to how much money I ask for, so I asked for $4000 initially, received a little over $1000), meaning my initial artist fee for completing this project ask of $200 was reduced to $70.Realistically, as the artist behind the project, this meant I had to put the rest of my life on hold to focus on making sure I did this project and these artists justice.So, I had to work less, to spend more time at these programs servicing folks experiencing homelessness.The artist fee also covered the cost of gas for my car, and 7/11 iced coffee for me to keep going.So, with the artist fee of $70, this brings our new total to $144.66.Now we use $144.66 to cover the cost of reception and exhibit essentials!So what goes into planning a reception?Bookmark this for all your future reception endeavours.First, you will need to consider your audience, and set the vibe accordingly.With the reception coming up, there were a few last minute features that needed to be included in the show.One of our featured artists, Robber Macs, had his graphic novel laminated but had nothing to sell, so we had to get creative.As an artist, my first thought was to paint one of the cover pages, but with time constraints that did not seem plausible.So, with some of the grant money left, we used:$47.65 to blow up two of the cover pages and frame them to be sold.New grant total: $144.66 - $47.65 = $97.01Before applying for the ACHF grant, I attended a seminar hosted by WAE (Windsor Artist Exchange) where I learned that the purpose of the grants' existence was to also uplift other creatives who work in the industry.So, this is where the rest of the grant money comes in:$40 - for the poster to be made to promote the event. I asked @MLEHN on Instagram to make the poster, and come up with a title for the exhibit as I was frankly at a loss for what to call it.$12.50 - was used to print off the pages used for the silent auction binder, 50 pages, at $0.25 per page, printed at our local Public Library.$40 - for the caterers at the reception. Pinoy Pastry, whose founder is a local mental health advocate in the community, offered to work the reception at no cost.Working with an up-and-coming bakery, Lala's Bakery (tentative name), I wanted to give them an opportunity for exposure and a chance to make money as business.$97.01 - $40 - $40 - $12.50 = $4.51 is the new running total for the exhibit.The reception came and went, and then started our first official week of opening, and there were no extra miscellaneous costs to cover.The grant money covered all of the necessary expenses, and for this to have been a project where the only consistent person through its entirety was me, I would say that it was very successful.Through social media, and news coverage, and one full week of being at the exhibit between 11am-7pm, we were successfully able to make $2795 to distribute to the artists involved with the exhibit.That averages out to $47 per piece, but of course each one of the pieces sold at its respective value.There is much I would do differently to make this exhibit an even bigger success next year, and luckily I already have some pals who are interested in being involved with it next year!Stay tuned for a blog post about that.While I am here, would like to send a personal thank you to everyone who made the Colors of Resilience 2023 exhibit possible:Aleah Berenz - for working at the exhibit and ensuring it stayed open!Bree Baker Young - for showing up to workshops at WYC, H4, and helping plan the reception, and execute the exhibit.Jordyne Rose - for meeting with me at the WYC and introducing me to the staff and artists there!Mackenzie Reid - for helping facilitate the workshops at the WYC every single week!Meahgan Sweeney - for guidance through the project, and for helping facilitate workshops at both WYC, and WWC.Savaughn Riley - for helping facilitate workshops at the WYC every week, and partnering with the project to create an original Designs by Sav piece.Kamryn Cusamano - for assisting with the grant writing aspect of the project, and reaching out to news outlets on behalf of the project.Kat Valentine - for putting on a show that made our artists feel like a million bucks, lending her PA system to our featured artist Robber Macs to perform with.Emma Carosella - for documenting the project in its fullness from beginning to end.MLE Hempley - for creating promotional material, helping install the exhibit, and coming up with the name of the project, Colors of ResilienceRaija Rudrik, Nat Alcaraz - for helping install the show and making sure it happened!All of the staff at the Homelessness Housing Help Hub and the Windsor Youth CentreTammy specifically from Women's Welcome CentreArts Council Windsor Region and Artspeak Gallery, and Artcite for supporting me and the projectAnd of course, all of the artists involved in the exhibit, make sure to keep up with them and their work!@agarothsart, Tyler McIntyre@ma'iinganartistry, Ma'iingan@themacsmilkbandit, Cody Charles FarruggiaAnn RenoPlease support these artists in their endeavours because I would not have been able to do any of this without them!

If you like what we are doing in the community, a share would mean the world to us!Please tag us and use #heartfromthestreets!

"1000 Burgers" Made in YQG collab

The 1000 Burger Project is a collaboration with local creator Jake from Made in YQG, aimed at benefiting the Downtown Mission, heArt from the Streets and Artists involved.Inspired by a local influencer's misrepresented donation claims (1000 burgers) to charity, a figure which was “only used to clickbait the videos” (his own words) - This project is dedicated to turning the influencer's superficial gestures into an opportunity to genuinely support our homeless community.This collaboration not only provides vital support but also amplifies the voices of vulnerable individuals in the community who are actively subjected to exploitation (being filmed without their permission, monetizing their suffering, etc)After hearing about this incident, Made in YQG reached out to heArt from the Streets (formerly Colors of Resilience). Together, we encouraged local artists via heArt from the Streets art workshops taken place in local shelters, to create hamburger-themed artwork, with proceeds supporting the artists themselves, heArt from the Streets and the Downtown Mission.Following our community display in Art Windsor Essex - WFCU Eco Space from April 2 to April 21, 2024 to showcase our progress, we are are committed to continuing the mission of the 1000 Burger Project and plan to create merchandise, prints, and organize fundraising events with the ultimate goal of hosting a final showing and silent auction of the original artworks in August 2024.Through these ongoing efforts, we aim to continue raising awareness and funds to continue providing opportunities for artistic expression through art workshops and community engagement.To stay up to date on our upcoming events and launches, please follow @madeinyqg @heartfromthestreets on instagram

Community Contributions

@ghawkart (top) and @fivefoottwopottery(bottom)
Thank you for believing in the project and contributing your work to be displayed and auctioned off to benefit Downtown Mission & heArt from the Streets.

Thank you to Allan @criticaldesigns for your contribution and help with last minute print media to help decorate and advertise our community display!

During our last burger workshop at h4 before our first display, @whamburg.yqg donated 25 burgers for our artists to enjoy a delicious lunch while they created!

heArt from the Streets plans to create merchandise/print sales to support the Downtown Mission, heArt from the Streets and the artists involved.This approach ensures that the project supports not only the artists through heArt from the streets initiatives but also contributes to vital services provided by the DTM.

After hearing about the project, Local Artist @dissociationdude contributed his "Bird Boy" character enjoying a burger to join the cause!

Local Drag Artist @cecil.cecropia crocheted this amazing burger piece that was auctioned off to provide art supplies next years art workshops!

heArt from the Streets 2024 exhibit

2024 recap coming soon!As a project, we’d like to thank everyone who has helped us get this far, including our volunteers, the shelters we work and partner with, our artistic collaborators, and the venue spaces that have so kindly hosted us for 2 years:- Thank you to the 5 volunteers who helped start this journey with me: to Sav, Meaghan, Bree, Mackenzie, and Aleah, you all are in the heart of hearts of this project;- Thank you to Artspeak Gallery for generously hosting our project 2 years in a row, and
for giving us extra time in the space;- Thank you of course, to the City of Windsor for believing in this project and what we
stand for, and taking the chance on such a huge undertaking;- Thank you to our current and past volunteers who have helped with facilitating workshops through every circumstance imaginable: to Mariam, Madi, Amberjoy, Ana,
Nakaa, and Jake thank you so much for your continued dedication to the cause;- Andrea Niven of @bearfootstudios who partnered with us and gave 2 of our heArtists a chance to paint a mural with her at New Song Church!- Special thank you to the Windsor Youth Centre, Women’s Welcome Centre, and the
Homelessness Housing Help Hub for coordinating efforts with us to make the execution
of this project possible;- Thank you to our dedicated support base made up of community members who take
time out of their summers to visit us each time, and buy our heArtists’ work, without you
this project wouldn’t have a reason to exist;- And of course, THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of the heArtists who have ever, and will
ever participate in making art with us and this project, it means the world to be trusted byso many people in my community, I am so happy to serve you all.

credit to @jel_media, Justin Elliott for the photograph

Batool "Batoolio" Yahya (@artbybatoolio)
Founder & Project Coordinator

Batoolio is a Palestinian-Canadian, Windsor-based, self-taught artist, and 2023 recipient of the City of Windsor’s ACHF grant, which she used to put on Windsor’s first Colors of Resilience gallery of curated works.Batoolio’s work has been exhibited in both group and solo shows at Phog Lounge, Artspeak Gallery, and as Artcite’s 2023 BIPOC Artist in Residence. Her work can also be seen on Spotify as cover art for Windsor-based musicians Dagobah Green, Dig Samples, under their music, as well as logo designs for local brand Designs by Sav, and CJAM 99.1 to develop a sticker for their 2023 Charity Drive.Batoolio draws inspiration from classic painters Freida Khalo, Vincent Van Gogh, and more recent works by Jean-Michael Basquiat, and Keith Harring, and uses their philosophies to teach workshops in Windsor.

Jake Kelza (@madeinyqg)
1000 Burger Project

Jake is the chaotic good behind Made in YQG - a passion project dedicated to supporting local Windsor Essex.Jake’s willingness to think outside the box and challenge the status quo through unconventional approaches to supporting local initiatives and addressing community challenges has recently made waves throughout YQG. His bold approach has not only garnered attention but has also inspired others to take action and get involved in making a difference in Windsor-Essex.As a content creator, Jake leverages his platform to shine a spotlight on local businesses, artists, and initiatives, amplifying their voices and helping them reach a wider audience. Through his engaging and authentic content, he connects with the community and showcases the talent that thrives in Windsor-Essex, while encouraging his community to support local.

credit to @jel_media, Justin Elliott for the photograph

Contact Batool "Batoolio" Yahya
(@artbybatoolio)
- Main Contact -

Contact Jake Kelza (@madeinyqg)
- 1000 Burger Project -