Social Impact

Art Start is a program out of New York City that provides art instruction and activities to at-risk and under-served children, teens and families with the belief that ART SAVES LIVES.  These events take place inside homeless shelters, alternative to incarceration programs, and partnering youth agencies. They match teaching partners to youths through consistent creative workshops.  Chartpak has conducted a workshop/lecture with these teachers using a range of Koh-I-Noor pencils, Higgins Inks, and AD Markers to make a mandala.  This project creates a beautiful work of art while teaching students about different drawing media and how they work. We’ve also discussed product donations and future workshops.
Learn more about this non-profit organization at www.art-start.org

The Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA) is a nonprofit organization for colored pencil enthusiasts working to promote colored pencils as a fine art medium by sponsoring exhibitions and workshops, being involved in product research, and educating the public in general. Chartpak is a sponsor for CPSA and attends their exhibitions and has provided workshops and product donations at their events. Learn more at www.cpsa.org (artwork: Denise Howard)

Snow farm is a non-profit organization that provides advanced studio craft and fine art instruction in a residential setting.  They operate on a farm located 10 minutes from Chartpak that has studio space and dormitories for artists. They have programs for adults and high-school age teenagers.  Chartpak has provided a scholarship for their student summer program and an urban fine art workshop this year.  The plans for 2018 include continuing support through workshops, scholarships, and teacher training events to help area public school teachers gain art material knowledge while earning professional development hours towards maintaining their licensure. Learn more about Snow Farm at www.snowfarm.org
(artwork: Wane COD and workshop students at Snow Farm)

Chartpak's Director of Education, Ed Brickler, has been conducting lectures on art materials at a number of art schools across the country including SCAD and RISD. We connect with students and professors about art materials. Ed's lectures cover a wide range of topics such as how to use and evaluate art materials, and how to create media specific techniques. Ed is also the leading the content direction for our artists' community, Thalo.com.

(artwork: Ed Brickler)

A global non-profit that connects artists through artistic storytelling on-location where they live and travel. They partner with schools, museums, and universities to provide workshops and events that take artists through various cities, allowing them to draw and learn on-site.  They have a network of blogs and online groups where urban sketchers share their drawings and stories and interact with one another.  Once a year they organize the "International Urban Sketchers Symposium" that is attended by hundreds of sketching enthusiasts. The event is held in a different city each year, and includes lectures and workshops taught by professional artists. Chartpak has sponsored product at their event in Chicago, and hosted a sketching workshop. (artwork: Richard Johnson)