ArtVan

Our mission is to bring strengths-based art therapy to youth living in under-resourced communities. On Dec. 12 2012 ArtVan was approved its 501c3.

The ArtVan Program began in 2004 in collaboration with the City of Bath’s Community Development Office to bring free arts to two low-income Bath housing developments, with the mission to enrich the lives of youth who did not have access to recreational activities in Bath, Maine. Encouraged by high attendance levels, enthusiastic participants, and grateful parents, we continued our services with se

veral grant awards and community support. During 2006 and 2007, ArtVan expanded to the “Tree Street” low-income housing neighborhood in Lewiston, two housing developments in Auburn, a subsidized Brunswick housing development (Perryman Village), and a low-income neighborhood of Biddeford, Maine. In June of 2011, after six years of successful programming through Volunteers of America and VSA Maine, ArtVan incorporated as a State of Maine non-profit. Awaiting approval from IRS for 501c3 tax-exempt status, Joyful Harvest in Biddeford, Me., served as ArtVan’s Fiscal Sponsor.

08/31/2026

This past weekend we celebrated the film, “By, Alongside” by Filmmaker, Matt Didisheim, at the 4-day long 12th annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival.
Matt followed ArtVan for 6 months to create a documentary of ArtVan’s origins and its art therapy work in our communities. We were delighted to meet many filmmakers who were also shining a light and story about the lives of people who are survivors of the hardships they face as they navigate life’s challenges and how creativity is healing and keeps them moving forward.
We are standing with filmmaker Yaseen J Khan from Johannesburg South Africa of the extraordinary film “Robots”. Post the film during audience participation we spoke of the importance of the arts in healing, and as art therapists, filmmakers, we dive deep into the lives of the people we’re working with, this becomes more than just a job. And the importance of bringing the stories of what goes on behind the scenes and how we are activists to deliver the message and provide the support. Thank you Matt!!!

08/26/2026

There's something specific to summer programming that enhances and expands the healing ArtVan is able to provide.
Being able to host programming outside, and setting up in a neighborhood yard or public park, we become a gathering point. People walk up to the van all the time asking to learn more, or sharing how inspired they feel by the art and our mission.
Our blue tarp signals ArtVan is here and youth artists slowly but surely find their way over guided by older cousins, siblings, friends, and neighbors. One stand-out moment of this seasonal effect was three teen boys wandered over to our tarp "just to say hi," remembering time spent with ArtVan from our Lewiston Middle School program, and they stuck around to pitch ideas for future weeks' art mediums.
This is the unintended magic of summer ArtVan programming - we don't have to do anything extra to bring people together. We just have to show up and the healing takes care of itself.

08/20/2026

An art therapy response from one of our program team members 💙
During a recent program supervision, our team reflected on relationships with participants through art. Bowdoin intern Ariana created this piece based on an interaction with a young participant who initially kept his distance, choosing not to join the group.
Instead of pushing, Ariana simply sat beside him. With time, patience, and quiet presence, he began to open up. Soon they were talking, creating art, and connecting.
In her artwork, the blue lines represent the walls many of our participants build to protect themselves, while the yellow circle symbolizes the steady presence of staff working to build trust. One of the biggest lessons from this reflection: trust isn't rushed—it grows by showing up, again and again.
"I hope to continue building trust with this boy and other participants, and this reflection helped me better understand just how important that trust really is."

08/19/2026

“It warmed my heart to see you”. As we finished our nature project in our Auburn neighborhood, a young man approached me. He said, “ I had to come over and say hi when I saw the van. My name is Colby and I used to live here and did ArtVan with my siblings. We would be just like this outside making art or inside the community center. It warmed my heart to see you still here. I’m now a daycare teacher and work with cheer and I’m planning to go onto school to be a police officer. So good to see you here”. He put his hand on his heart, and once again said it warms my heart, to see you here, thank you.” AND THANK YOU Colby ❤️

08/16/2026

NFI teens, Finding calm through sound art. This past week ArtVan teens created rain sticks using recycled large card board tubes from construction materials, hammer and nails, paints and duct tape.

Inspired by the eclipse, we talked about ways to bring in light (joy, calm) into our shadow (hurt feelings) parts of our selves and experiences. They did find the calm in creating and using their rain sticks, dropping into the “art zone” and magic of creativity!

08/13/2026

We'll be at Curtis Memorial Library TOMORROW (8/14) leading an art project, during FROM WITHIN's closing art show.
Jeremy Litchfield, founder of Heart-Strong and local to Brunswick, has been working with the men at Lawrenceville Corrections Center to bring their art to the public. All art sales benefit ArtVan, and this show highlights the importance of swift intervention and mental health support - and the impact it can have at any stage of life.

08/12/2026

Community is made up of so many parts at ArtVan, including Maine colleges.
Each summer we work with an intern from Bowdoin, (among other interns and colleges we collaborate with) through the Mckeen Center for the Common Good.
This program is critical in supporting ArtVan's capacity to meet programming and operational demand, and the students we work with are always curious, eager, and focused on the needs of our program participants. Their passion and skill sets strengthen ArtVan's work. Here, our 2026 Bowdoin intern, Ariana, presented her experience with ArtVan during a reception hosted by Mckeen Center for the Common Good at Bowdoin College.

08/11/2026

Behind every ArtVan session is a team that's constantly growing.
Our art therapists and program team go through ongoing group supervision with each other - where they reflect together on their sessions, their own emotional reactions, and how to show up even better for the people we serve. Their supervisions include creating an art form to represent their experiences.
Together the team will share their visual impressions (pictured) to use as a platform for conversation. This creative supervision allows for a deeper sense of compassion, competency, and connection for their work and those ArtVan serves.
This practice is common within the therapeutic profession and it's an important part of our program team's work. "Supervision isn't just about providing oversight - its about growth, connection, and learning how to best support those we work with". Traci Bitondo, PhD, LPC, LPAT, ATR-BC, ACS, ATCS

08/10/2026

THIS WEEKEND!
Artists donate their time and talent so that 100% of your ticket price benefits ArtVan! Tickets >> https://artvan.ddock.gives/?givingPageId=d7b90fe2-5579-4a13-8f24-ebd353b6c9f3

08/06/2026

Join us at Curtis Memorial Library for the closing show for "FROM WITHIN."
Only five paintings remain and proceeds benefit ArtVan. We'll be leading a drop-in art project for all event-goers. This is family friendly! Hopefully we see you there!

Address

Brunswick, ME

Telephone

+12072006944

Website

http://www.artvanprogram.org/

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