We have been energized and inspired by the overwhelming response to the Imagekind for Humankind (IK4HK) Japan Relief efforts!  We have showcased art from over 70 Imagekind artists who are donating all or part of their proceeds to this cause!  This is the largest collaborative artist response that Imagekind has had to date and we are thrilled!  Your incredible generosity has undoubtedly offered hope to those suffering through the aftermath of this devastation.  We would like to personally thank Rob Dobi for acting as a catalyst for this cause.

Throughout April and May we have been busy reviewing your stories and are truly inspired by your philanthropy and by the passion you show for your communities.  Imagekind shares this passion and will continue to do everything we can to assist you as you continue to use your talents to heal and change the world.  In that spirit, we would like to thank you for continuing to respond to our call for stories.  We hope that stories like the one Elaine Adel Cummins shared with us will continue to motivate you!

I’m making New Orleans a better place by being here and painting what I believe shows this great city at its best. After Hurricane Katrina devastated my home town I felt the need to be part of the efforts to rebuild, so I came back. New Orleans has a small artist colony on the Jackson Square that lost about 50% of its artists.  Many life-long artists did not come back. The artists that remained were told they were at risk of losing the art colony altogether. The call was made to come back and bring the true color of our proud city back to the Historic Jackson Square. I came back in December of 2006 and have been painting on the Jackson Square ever since.  Being part of the reestablishment of this small art colony makes New Orleans a better place. Each person that comes to New Orleans and sees artists painting and showing great art builds hope for the future. One by one people buy and bring the art from this colony back to their homes all across the world.  So in a way the art does reach across the world. I hope people remember New Orleans as the city that had a terrible storm that hurt us, but that we came back strong and beautiful and full of artistic expression for the world to see.

We are so glad that you were able to help bring the art community back to New Orleans, Elaine!   If you would like to see some of the amazing art coming out of New Orleans today, check out Elaine’s work and help her spread the spirit of New Orleans across the globe!

We love hearing about how art is impacting your lives and we will continue to feature your stories to help remind us all of the greater good our scribbles and masterpieces can have!   If you have a story of your own you’d like to share, please do so here!