This week on Community Corner, we had the privilege of talking with an organization that shares our love of art, music, and creativity. Poverty And The Arts (POVA), founded by Belmont alum Nicole Minyard, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit leveraging the skills of creative expression and entrepreneurship to help serve homeless individuals in Nashville.
POVA helps people struggling with homelessness access the tools to express themselves through art and then helps them sell their creations to earn income. Not only is the studio a safe and welcoming place for the artists to seek shelter, it’s a place to learn valuable skills that translate to positive housing outcomes. In addition to selling art, POVA helps its artists with things like resumes and interviewing skills.
When crafting the vision for POVA, Minyard set her sights on transforming the collective perception of homelessness. In addition to wanting to solve problems at an individual level, she asked herself “how would being able to see the creative talents of people on the street change our engrained stereotypes and biases that we have about them?”
If you’re looking to get involved, the annual Gold Key Gala fundraiser is just around the corner on Saturday, February 20th, and admission is just $20 per household. With the help of some local partners, the event has transitioned to a virtual format, offering an incredible array of at-home opportunities to engage with the art while raising money for the artists through silent auction!
Listen to the full interview with POVA founder Nicole Minyard below: