Baltimore Nonprofit Art with a Heart Seeks Community Help Painting 26th Anniversary Mural

Art with a Heart is marking its 26th year the way it has marked most things since 2000: by handing Baltimoreans a paintbrush and getting out of the way. The Hampden-anchored nonprofit is hosting four community painting sessions this week at its HeARTwares social enterprise store at 1104 W. 36th St., where volunteers of any age and zero artistic experience are invited to add brushstrokes to a wall-size birthday mural that will permanently line the interior of the space.

Sessions run March 18 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., March 19 from 5 to 7 p.m., and March 21 and 22 from noon to 2 p.m. The finished mural will serve as the standing backdrop for HeARTwares workshops and events long after the paint dries.

The design, a playful sun pattern rendered in bright colors, was chosen by Art with a Heart staff and followers through a social media vote. Executive Director Megan Gatto said the project fits squarely within how the organization has always operated. "Art with a Heart is always happy to bring people together to make beauty, share joy and connect through art, so of course we are incorporating this into our birthday celebration," Gatto said. "This mural will serve as a lasting symbol of our mission to inspire, strengthen and heal through visual art."

The scale of that mission has grown considerably. In 2025 alone, Art with a Heart facilitated more than 13,000 art classes, collaborated with 95 community partners, and engaged over 6,000 volunteers. The organization opened a second location in Hampden in 2024 as demand for its programming expanded across Baltimore City and beyond. Its work spans visual art projects, workforce development, service-learning programs, and leadership development initiatives, all organized around a core mission to enhance the lives of people in need through the arts.

The HeARTwares store on The Avenue doubles as a social enterprise that helps support those programs. Transforming its interior wall into a community mural, painted across four public sessions by neighbors, students, supporters, and first-time visitors alike, reflects both the celebratory and utilitarian instincts that have defined the organization since its founding.

Those interested in participating or learning more can visit artwithaheart.net, call (410) 366-8886, or email jess@artwithaheart.net. Art with a Heart can also be found on Facebook at @AWAHBaltimore and on Instagram and X at @artwithaheart_.