Heard

Mission

Heard hires local artists to teach creativity and life skills through art to adults, families, and youth who may be in recovery, survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault, LGBTQia+, older adults, immigrant, incarcerated, or transitioning from incarceration or homelessness, through its partnerships with Alexandria and other area nonprofit and local government organizations.

We offer acting, creative writing (journaling, memoir writing, and more), dance, yoga, improvisation, poetry, public speaking, singing, spoken word, and visual art. We know that some of our clients love one art over another, and with us, they get to try so many!

Did we mention our writing contests with the Alexandria and Arlington Detention Centers? You bet, since 2018. Heard also hosts an annual writing contest with both detention centers with nominal cash prizes for first, second, and third place entries for fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The works are judged by area poet laureates, writers, and publishers, and shared with local media and city events. 

Our impact is amazing! We support artists. We support those in need. We support our program partners. Your donation helps us all succeed. Click here to view our 2023-2024 Impact Report! Here are just three examples of the buzz about us:

Client: “[I] Learned to speak up, express my inner thoughts, sharing [my] life story, learn from others' story, get confidence to [stand] in front of people & tell something that impacts others' life." 

Program partner: “Heard has been such an amazing partner! The teachers have brought creative, engaging activity that the kids love. Thank you Heard!" 

Heard artist: “Witnessing this transformational creativity and them using their agency is a spiritual journey for me that I truly cherish." 

Your impact—also amazing! Thanks to two generous matching grants, your donation will be doubled or even tripled. The Mason Hirst Foundation has offered a $10,000 and the Hess Collins Family Fund has offered a $7,000 matching grants. So your $50 donation becomes $150 dollars. We so appreciate our matching grant donors and hope you'll join them in a commitment to support Heard.

How We Started

Founder Jane Collins was inspired to create Heard by her mother, who was a talented artist, and her father, who was a quiet philanthropist.

Our first class was held in 2017, and since then we have almost 1,500 classes to over 10,000 adults and youth!

And we're still growing. Furiously. 

What's Next

We know our model of hiring local artists with local funds to support local needs to expand. We have a new Executive Director at the helm with big dreams to expand Heard offerings across the DMV, and online to carceral facilities nationwide.

We have so much more work to do, and we want you to be part of it! Please support us, and thank you for supporting Heard, our clients, our artists, our program partners, Spring2ACTion, and our community!

Kelly Carnes, Executive Director

Who We Are

Heard contracts with local artists to teach creativity and life skills through art to adults who may be in recovery, survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault, LGBTQA, older adults, immigrant, incarcerated, or transitioning from incarceration or homelessness, through its partnerships with Alexandria and other area nonprofit and local government organizations. We also offer services to families and youth.
In addition to the creative outlet offered to clients, Heard programs help clients develop:
• Confidence in themselves as they learn to shape their own stories as they gain control over their situation
• Increased decision-making skills as they learn focus through fine-tuning their stories
• Increased empathy as they listen to other clients’ stories. These listening skills help clients to learn focus and shape their own stories
• New skills to apply to life decisions
• Inspiration to live independently, move forward in their lives and fulfill goals they have established for themselves