Who We Are

Barefoot Artists develops and leads community-based art projects in disadvantaged communities around the world that educate, train and empower local residents; organize communities; and take action for a more compassionate, just, and sustainable future.

Founded as a nonprofit organization in 2002 by Chinese-American visual artist and community organizer Lily Yeh, Barefoot Artists has applied Yeh’s innovative methodology — developed over nearly 20 years as the Founder and Executive Director of The Village of Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia — to projects in countries and communities around the globe including Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, Ecuador, Palestine and China.

A volunteer-based organization with few encumbrances of staff and overhead. Yeh raises funds for specific projects that pair volunteer expertise with local people to improve environments, and to advance health, education, and economic development. When funds are raised for a project, a call for volunteers is held and paid staff are organized.

During the project process, participants learn Barefoot Artists methodology on community building and economic development through art. We aim to inspire participants to initiate new projects, bring other volunteers, find new funding sources and discover other opportunities to serve communities. We intend for the programs initiated by volunteers to become multifaceted and interconnected in order to serve communities in need.

From 1986 – 2004, Lily Yeh served as the co-founder, executive director, and lead artist of The Village of Arts and Humanities, a non-profit organization with the mission to build community through art, learning, land transformation and economic development. Under her eighteen years of leadership The Village developed from a summer park building project into an organization with 20 full-time and part-time employees, hundreds of volunteers, and a $1.3 million budget.

The Village has become a multi-faceted community building organization with activities including after-school and weekend programs, greening land transformation, housing renovation, theater, and economic development initiatives. The center works on local to international projects, and has been a leading model of community revitalization. The Village continues to thrive under new leadership. Please visit villagearts.org to learn more.