It’s Giving Season at SCA!

This giving season, we’re celebrating the transformative power of art by sharing Maia’s story.

“Just because I carry it well

doesn’t mean it isn’t heavy to tell.

Still, colors swirl and music plays,

turning heavy nights into brighter days.

Each leaf I paint, each note I play,

is a small discovery that brightens my day.”

by Maia, age 16

 

When 16-year-old Maia recently shared this poem at our Gallery Night this fall, her words went straight to my heart. Maia has been in and out of the hospital, and as you can imagine, the experience hasn’t been easy for her. “In the hospital, days can blur together — the same walls, the same routines, the same quiet moments that feel endless,” she says.

But everything changed when she met Bree, a Snow City Arts Teaching Artist.

“Suddenly, I wasn’t just a patient. I was an artist, a musician, a creator.” says Maia. In a particularly memorable workshop, she worked with her Teaching Artist on a watercolor painting of a mosaic leaf. “I can still remember watching the colors spread and mix, almost like they were alive. That leaf became more than just a piece of art — it was a reminder that even in the hardest places, new things can grow.”

Maia’s poem above was inspired by this special moment, and her eloquent words affect me so deeply because her experience is central to everything we do at Snow City Arts: In the sterile, sometimes scary environment of the hospital, our Teaching Artists provide supplies, gentle guidance, and encouragement as students begin to explore their creativity in whatever ways are most exciting to them. They can paint with watercolor, learn a musical instrument, write a poem… or they can explore all three, like Maia! For hundreds of young people each year, these moments of discovery allow them to forget the worry of being sick and just…create.

What’s more, our workshops align with the same learning standards used in our students’ schools, so they can grow as artists and earn school credit while in the hospital – and of course, students and their families never pay a penny to make art with us.

Snow City Arts makes these moments possible for Chicago pediatric patients every day — thanks to our Teaching Artists, our hospital partners, and you.

Your support makes it possible for us to bring moments of inspiration to hundreds of young people each year, especially in this time when federal funding in healthcare, education, and the arts, has been cut.

Will you make a gift to Snow City Arts to help us transform the experience of hospitalization for pediatric patients across Chicago? Your generous contribution of $100, $50 — or whatever you can give — ensures that our Teaching Artists can continue to bring creativity, inspiration, and joy to any child who wishes to make art with us.

Please, make your gift today to help us continue to share the joy of creativity with any child who wishes to participate. To make a gift, simply go to snowcityarts.com/donate.

Fish Bones by Maia, age 16