Art Road in Livonia works to bring art instruction to youth throughout southeast Michigan. It provides field trips and a summer art camp, engages instructors, and offers a space for art classes. The nonprofit was founded in 2004 in response to budget cuts that erased art curriculum from many schools – of 81 schools in the Detroit public school system, 55 of them lack an art program. Art Road provides art class to more than 2,200 students in southeast Michigan with programs in five schools in Detroit and Ecorse. A total of 16,000 students have attended art classes since the nonprofit was established. The program also offers online instructions for projects so students can complete them at home. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Art Road is seeking donations of artwork being created during the pandemic. It will turn the artwork into a traveling exhibition of three “capsules” designed to showcase the beauty that can come from difficult times. Each capsule will showcase 19 pieces, and extra artwork will be auctioned off to benefit future art classes.
