How RedLine Contemporary Art Center’s REACH Open Studio is Creating a Positive Impact on our Community

From founding new satellite studio spaces to engaging more artists around Denver, plus emotional and mental health resources—learn how REACH is expanding its impact in 2024 through philanthropic efforts and your support.

Letter from Education Director Tya Anthony

RedLine created REACH Open Studio in 2011 in response to the need for holistic support of one of our cities most marginalized populations. I’m pleased to share with you our impact report, highlighting the significant strides REACH Open Studio has made over the last 13 years to enhance healing-centered access and representation within the arts sector.

Our focus has been on creating a safe and supportive community of peers, promoting collective and individual healing, while destigmatizing mental health challenges, homelessness, and recovery. Your generous support has been instrumental in driving our efforts forward. 

Through engagement with community partners like Colorado Artists in Recovery, Stout Street Recuperative Care Center, and REVEL IN LIFE, we’ve seen participation in this program grow by 20% from 2022-2023, serving over 1,700 participants in the past year, along with the addition of 5 supporting organizations.

As we grow our support, we continue to ensure we are meeting the needs of our participants creating co-ownership of the program’s vision and future. For the past 8 years, REACH Open Studio has been facilitated by our first REACH participant and Core Artist, Gonzo.

Recently, we completed a comprehensive assessment of the current state of access to healing-centered arts-related resources, opportunities, and spaces for our REACH communities. This includes outreach and surveying of REACH participants and partner organizations to understand the gaps in support.

Our findings indicated that while there have been improvements, significant gaps remain in providing equitable healing-centered access to arts, funding, and professional opportunities for REACH individuals.

In 2024, RedLine is dedicated to expanding the support and services offered to those involved in REACH. In addition to facilitating an inclusive, community-centered, and culturally informed community art space with access to free art supplies, thanks to the Morris & Joyce Price Art Bank, we will be integrating an art therapist to support the holistic health of our REACH members. 

Utilizing our 13 year history and experience of supporting one of our most marginalized communities through REACH, RedLine will replicate our current program on site to a new location. 

We’re proud to announce our first REACH Satellite Studio in partnership with Nest56 at Denargo Market. RedLine joined forces to create a REACH Studio within a 56-Unit complex for young adults (18-26 years) who are at risk of homelessness (i.e., aging out of foster care) or experiencing homelessness. 

Through REACH Open Studio, RedLine is committed in removing the barriers and creating equal opportunities for unhoused and in recovery communities to grow, evolve, and have a fulfilled life. As we move forward, our commitment to holistically supporting the whole individual while ensuring equity, diversity, and inclusion remains unwavering.

Your continued support is vital to our mission. We’re deeply grateful for your generosity and commitment to reaching our under-resourced communities through art.

Your contributions have empowered us to take significant steps toward achieving our goals. With your ongoing support, we are confident that we can make even greater strides in the coming year.

Together, we can create a more inclusive and equitable arts sector that celebrates and uplifts the talents and voices of REACH individuals.

Warm regards,

Growth of REACH Open Studio from 2022-2024

In 2024, REACH has engaged:

Meet our REACH Core Artists >

Why is REACH Needed in Denver’s Art Community?

In response to the lack of support for artists who have experienced extreme financial hardship, are unhoused or in recovery, RedLine’s REACH Open Studio was created as an artist-led studio art program that offers a safe and inclusive space for artists to build their creative practice and take the next steps in their lives.

REACH was created by two art students from Metro State University in 2009 who wanted to share the power of art with individuals experiencing homelessness, and others in the community who often don’t get a chance to express themselves creatively.

They began holding workshops through St. Francis Center, engaging clients in art making. Soon the program found a home in the Community Studio at RedLine, where it has grown since.

Hear How REACH is Directly Impacting Our Community

REACH Open Studio primarily takes place on-site in our Community Studio. RedLine is at the epicenter of many of the city's service providers for unhoused individuals, but our REACH members come from all over the city of Denver as many transitional.

Local community organizations (service providers) who support individuals as they overcome life obstacles are invited to bring groups to create, ideate and/or collaborate with their peers and community on a weekly basis for facilitated art sessions with a focus on supporting individual’s behavioral health. 

Through our unique collaboration with our community partners, RedLine is increasing the support for our unhoused and in recovery communities through art therapy, therefore expanding the overall holistic behavioral health supports and services in Denver.

REACH Satellite Studio Expansion

Since 2019, RedLine has been approached and helped to negotiate over 80 additional affordable studio spaces and live/work spaces for artists in Colorado.

With a concentration on the City and County of Denver, RedLine’s Satellite Studio Initiative seeks to re-center artists communities, grassroots organizations, and underrepresented populations by utilizing and negotiating the abundance of unaffordable and vacant retail and/or new development opportunities, whose ownership model is seeking to support arts & culture. 

In 2024, we’re proud to announce our first REACH satellite studio and residency space!

RedLine believes in depth vs. scale, and meets people where they are, giving long-term holistic support for growth to live life to the fullest potential. We also believe that providing stable housing early can help break the cycle of homelessness, and give young people a better chance to succeed.

Housing instability presents a significant barrier to youth who would otherwise attend school, find employment, and engage in healthy and supportive relationships during the most formative years of their lives. This underscores the urgent need for stable and affordable housing for our unhoused neighbors in Denver.

At 2700 Wewatta, this new space provides safe and stable long-term housing for homeless youth and youth aging out of foster care in the Denver area.

The goal of the new REACH satellite studio and residency is to serve more community peer to peer groups and Denver artists looking for support through art therapy. It will not only support residents, but also offer services to additional support groups like Urban Peak, doubling our reach.

In addition to youth having access to stable housing, social services, bike storage, and laundry service, RedLine will facilitate an inclusive, community-centered and informed art space with access to free art supplies, community art classes, a mental health professional, art therapist, and an artist facilitator, who is an alumni to REACH.

Our new community partners/service providers participants will engage in weekly sessions with their organization and are invited back to utilize the space during our open studio hours overseen by our REACH Facilitator. 

The estimated open date for the REACH Satellite Studio and Residency space is June or July of 2024. Our Wewatta REACH Satellite Studio space will be accessible to all participants and potential new participants Wednesday-Saturday, 1-4pm.

New REACH Mental Health Therapist

In 2024, REACH seeks to focus on human-centered engagement approaches (HCE) vs. trauma-informed care. HCE represents a profound shift in our approach to creating art as catharsis and healing trauma, viewing it through a lens of strength, collective healing, and cultural re-centering.

HCE offers a language that humanizes and dignifies experiences, reframing trauma narratives. HCE poses a fundamental question: "What's right with you?" This empowers individuals as agents in their well-being, moving beyond victimhood.

Unlike clinical approaches, HCE is informed by social justice, empowering communities and individuals to address root causes of trauma for collective well-being. Culture and identity are central to HCE, offering pathways to restoring well-being through shared experiences, community, and belonging.

We’re thrilled to announce the integration of a full-time HCE Art Therapist into REACH Open Studio! The art therapist will work alongside REACH participants to support their social-emotional needs.

Local community organizations (service providers) who support individuals as they overcome life obstacles are invited to bring groups to create, ideate and/or collaborate with their peers and community on a weekly basis for facilitated art sessions.

The focus during the community partner sessions is supporting individual’s behavioral health through a human-centered engagement that creates empathy at it’s foundation, fostering emotional literacy and creating safe space for individuals to share their experiences and emotions.

Help Support RedLine and REACH Open Studio

We’re excited about the potential impact this expansion will have on the community!

Looking ahead, RedLine’s REACH Open Studio continues to seek funding partners who are eager to uplift Colorado artists and impact communities in meaningful ways. 

With additional funding, RedLine can further connect our Reach members with behavioral support services through a trained art therapist and having partner organizations from Denver’s micro communities come during open studio hours to connect with members in a supportive and safe environment.

Our love and support of REACH members is RedLine’s way of providing wrap-around services for their creativity and well-being. Through our REACH Open Studio, RedLine is committed in removing the barriers and creating equal opportunities for unhoused and in recovery communities to grow, evolve, and have a fulfilled life.

Expansion of REACH would allow for further engagement with our community partner/service providers and allow us to hire a certified art therapist to support the behavioral health of our Reach artists.

RedLine is still working on securing funding to secure and operate the new REACH Satellite Studio & Residency.

Ways to Support RedLine & Our REACH Open Studio:

Making a Gift Today

Make a gift online or mail your gift to RedLine at 2350 Arapahoe St. Denver, CO, 80205, Attn Development.

Leaving a Legacy

Contribute to RedLine's future by planning for a special gift, such as a bequest in your Will or Trust or through retirement accounts and life insurance. To learn more, visit https://www.redlineart.org/planned-giving or contact Development at sanderson@redlineart.org

Giving a Gift of Appreciated Securities 

Giving appreciated securities is a tax-wise way to support RedLine.

For securities held longer than one year, you can deduct their full fair market value, regardless of what you originally paid for them. You also avoid paying capital gains tax.

There are many types of assets that can be used to fund a charitable gift to RedLine. For more information on any of these vehicles, click here.

Giving Your Time Through Volunteering

We believe in strengthening local communities by supporting art and artists. As a RedLine Volunteer, you will be able to engage with a unique, creative culture that is inclusive and accessible to all.

Visit www.redlineart.org/other-ways-to-give to learn about more ways to make an impact, or contact Scott Anderson, Development Director, at sanderson@redlineart.org.

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