About

OUR MISSION

Art As Healing Foundation shares unique artistic voices with the greater community helping to heal inequity and build a more diverse creative marketplace.

DIVERSITY

We work to build an equal and fair representation of women and minority artists in museums, top galleries, private collections, auction houses, and the NFT marketplace and share the creative and inspiring voices of the visual arts. Women artists make up 52% of all professional artists world wide. However, only 5% of art held in permanent collections is by women artists. This disparity in the representation of women in the establishment fine art world, not only has an economic impact on women, but also has a cultural impact. Art is a form of communication. Without a more balance representation of women in the art world, that voice is lost and the culture is skewed to represent an almost entirely masculine voice. Moreover, that masculine voice is nearly entirely caucasian. A recent data survey by NMWA [National Museum of Women in the Arts] of 18 major museums in the US found that 75.7% of all the art in these 18 museums is by white male artists.

HEALING

Creating art is a powerful form of creation and healing. Healing is not only physical, but also emotional, social, and economical. Divisions in our culture can be expressed and healed through art. The constantly changing world can be an incredibly stressful place and art can be a method to release some of that tension and assist in recovery from unhealthy addictions. Art is a marvelous form of expression that communicates things that people may not, at first, be able to fully verbalize until they work through a creation process. Our events help us raise funds to create special programs to focus on the healing aspects of visual art.

GOALS

To provide assistance for artists to help them navigate through the establishment obstacles of the art world and benefit our communities with strong and diverse creative voices. Our goal is to provide several opportunities for visual artists to share their creative voices via special programs, art fairs, and exhibitions throughout each year.

HISTORY

Over the past six years we have produced eight fine art fairs, a plein air paint-out, and four major exhibitions. As we emerge from the 2020-21 pandemic, we have begun to explore new digital platforms and alternative means to showcase the visual arts and artists. In 2021 we added our first plein air paint-out, which was held in Downtown Detroit. It provided new scenery for the plein air artists to paint and an opportunity for the public to interact with artists as they work.

Hear Us! an exhibition about women by women artists will also take place this year. Instead of being a live exhibition as it had been in previous years, this year it will be a virtual exhibition along with the top four juried artists receiving billboard time during October.

We are passionate about bringing high quality art to the public and, at the same time, promoting the talented artists. With all new challenges and programs we are looking for great partners to help support us as we grow and evolve.

OUR BOARD

Executive Director Karyn Stetz has a BFA from Eastern Michigan University, is a practicing artist and as a woman artist, she has found huge barriers to women gaining access to shows and representation in major galleries and museums which directly impacts income. This is what lead her to found Art was Healing Foundation. Karyn has extensive experience in art exhibitions, art fairs, marketing, promotion, and graphic design. Her passion resides in making the art world more equitable and financially accessible for women and minority artists.

Marketing Director Bart Loeb has over three decades of event and marketing experience. He has produced over 2,500 shows and continues to help other events be successful via their advertising, sponsorships, and event operations. He has the unique quality of bringing people together from diverse backgrounds. Recently, a colleague of his said that Bart had done more for him, his family and many other African immigrants by helping them succeed in the United States by developing successful businesses than any other person or organization.

Operations Director Karen Kiley has been active in the Art Show industry and Women2Women Expo’s for several years.
As a graphic designer she has been in the printing industry for over 30 years. She began in the
newspaper industry and
Associate Art Director and Production Manager for three national magazines. Although multi-talented, her true talent lies in being a leader and having the ability to direct people to do what they need to do and when they need to do it in order to make every project a success.