What's ArtLifting?
ArtLifting is a social enterprise that empowers individuals who are in art programs at hospitals and shelters by selling their artwork. We are a low-profit limited liability company ("L3C"), which means we are a business driven by a social mission. Our mission is to help artists who are disabled, sick, or homeless artists find self-empowerment through the celebration and sale of their work.
How'd we get started?
As a college student, Liz Powers wrote a thesis which explored the social benefits of art therapy programs. Upon graduating from college, Liz created art groups in women's shelters in Cambridge, Mass. She realized that there were many great art therapy programs in Boston, but the missing piece was an equally empowering method for the artists to share their artwork.
A first step.
In 2011, Liz founded City Heart, an annual art show in Boston which offered a professional marketplace for members of eight local shelters to sell artwork to customers. In 2012, Liz's brother, Spencer, joined the team to help with the finances and logistics and by 2013, the show had grown to include 70 artists.
While the show was a local success, Liz and Spencer started brainstorming how to create a large-scale and sustainable marketplace for art therapy artists. Why not provide a professional marketplace for these artists year round? Why not help artists in hospitals and disability centers as well as shelters? Why not expand outside Boston? In addition, customers were always excitedly asking the same question at the check-out counter: "When's the next show!?" It was clear that there were so many reasons to grow and expand the mission, but we needed a sustainable and scalable way to do it.
The result is ArtLifting!
Founded in October 2013 as a low-profit limited liability company ("L3C"), ArtLifting is the social enterprise solution for homeless and disabled artists. We are driven by our mission and seek to empower our artists by providing a professional gallery where they can sell their work. Please explore the gallery and enjoy the artwork created by our friends. We encourage you to uplift the artists while brightening your walls. Your patronage is very much appreciated.
ArtLifting is a social enterprise that empowers individuals who are in art programs at hospitals and shelters by selling their artwork. We are a low-profit limited liability company ("L3C"), which means we are a business driven by a social mission. Our mission is to help artists who are disabled, sick, or homeless artists find self-empowerment through the celebration and sale of their work.
How'd we get started?
As a college student, Liz Powers wrote a thesis which explored the social benefits of art therapy programs. Upon graduating from college, Liz created art groups in women's shelters in Cambridge, Mass. She realized that there were many great art therapy programs in Boston, but the missing piece was an equally empowering method for the artists to share their artwork.
A first step.
In 2011, Liz founded City Heart, an annual art show in Boston which offered a professional marketplace for members of eight local shelters to sell artwork to customers. In 2012, Liz's brother, Spencer, joined the team to help with the finances and logistics and by 2013, the show had grown to include 70 artists.
While the show was a local success, Liz and Spencer started brainstorming how to create a large-scale and sustainable marketplace for art therapy artists. Why not provide a professional marketplace for these artists year round? Why not help artists in hospitals and disability centers as well as shelters? Why not expand outside Boston? In addition, customers were always excitedly asking the same question at the check-out counter: "When's the next show!?" It was clear that there were so many reasons to grow and expand the mission, but we needed a sustainable and scalable way to do it.
The result is ArtLifting!
Founded in October 2013 as a low-profit limited liability company ("L3C"), ArtLifting is the social enterprise solution for homeless and disabled artists. We are driven by our mission and seek to empower our artists by providing a professional gallery where they can sell their work. Please explore the gallery and enjoy the artwork created by our friends. We encourage you to uplift the artists while brightening your walls. Your patronage is very much appreciated.
Location: United States, Massachusetts, Boston
Employees: 11-50
Phone: +1 304-825-5278
Total raised: $1.1M
Founded date: 2013
Investors 2
| Date | Name | Website |
| - | MassChalle... | masschalle... |
| - | Exponentia... | exponentia... |
Funding Rounds 1
| Date | Series | Amount | Investors |
| 27.10.2015 | Seed | $1.1M | - |
Mentions in press and media 8
| Date | Title | Description |
| 08.09.2016 | What the Founder of TOMS Shoes Is Doing Now | A decade ago, Blake Mycoskie turned two important observations from his travels in Argentina into what would become a multimillion-dollar shoe business. The first was that impoverished children without shoes were not only exposed to illness... |
| 08.12.2015 | 16 Boston Startups to Watch in 2016 | As you’ve probably heard, it’s never been easier (or more socially acceptable) to shun a normal career path in favor of founding a startup. That doesn’t mean it’s any easier to launch a good startup, though. And for people like myself there... |
| 27.10.2015 | New Money: KICVentures Is Raising a $20M Fund; QD Vision, Desktop Metal & ArtLifting Raise $$ | Get a daily dose of Boston funding news in The Beat. Sign up here. New Money is BostInno's report on all the tech funding deals this week. Check back for updates with more new money. KICVentures (Malden) Amount: $300,000 in debt, according ... |
| 27.10.2015 | ArtLifting Secures $1.1M in Seed Funding | ArtLifting, an Allston, MA-based online marketplace that sells the artwork of homeless, disabled and other disadvantaged individuals, secured $1.1m in seed funding. Backers included Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, Eric Ries, Joanne Wilso... |
| 27.10.2015 | ArtLifting Raises $1.1 Million To Help The Homeless Sell Their Art | ArtLifting, an online art marketplace for homeless, disabled and other disadvantaged people to sell their artwork, recently raised a $1.1 million seed round from Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, angel investor Joanne Wilson, author and en... |
| 18.12.2014 | Ending The Invisibility Of Homelessness | Kevin F. Adler Contributor Kevin F. Adler is the founder and CEO of NearShot, a media and interaction company based in San Francisco. Last night in San Francisco, 6436 of our neighbors slept on the streets or in shelters. The lack of afford... |
| 29.10.2014 | MassChallenge Celebrates Highest-Impact Startups from 2014 | MassChallenge and ~1,700 members of the Boston startup community gathered to celebrate entrepreneurship at the fifth-annual MassChallenge Awards Ceremony. The event featured pitches from the Top 26 startups, and speeches from Governor Deval... |
| 14.10.2014 | MassChallenge Announces Top 26 Finalists from Most Competitive Class Ever | Our entrepreneurs had a rigorous summer and Im very proud of all startups from the 2014 class, said MassChallenge Founder and President Akhil Nigam. These top 26 startups are poised to make a tremendous impact across a variety of industries... |