Find Art Doors Community Art Campaign Raises Awareness And Funds For Supportive Housing

Illumination by
Binford Middle School;
Photo by Kevin Orlosky

We’ve written before about how community art projects can help improve quality of life, but Richmond-based Virginia Supportive Housing (VSH) recently partnered with Art On Wheels (AOW) to take the idea two steps further with the Find Art Doors campaign. This campaign created a unique public art installation by providing local artists with doors removed during renovation of a Virginia Supportive Housing apartment complex for formerly homeless individuals. The doors were installed around Richmond for everyone to enjoy, and a summer scavenger hunt for fun and prizes encouraged fans to locate all 40 doors.

Untitled by Chris Milk;
Photo by Kevin Orlosky

“By strategically placing doors in green spaces, on landmarks, outside of museums and in many little-known parks around the Richmond area, we really feel like we helped those going on the quest to rediscover their city,” said VSH’s Katelyn Heindel. “Many folks who joined in on the Instagram quest said in their posts that they found themselves in pocket parks they never knew existed, or were learning about community groups in the area for the first time. All of the doors also gave a quick synopsis of the missions of VSH and AOW, and most importantly, told a story of a VSH client who used to live behind each door.”

VHDA was happy to assist with the Find Art Doors campaign by sponsoring a door near our headquarters, which was painted by Chris Milk and located by the Oregon Hill Overlook.

However, the campaign wasn’t just about fun and art. Patrons have been encouraged to donate to show their appreciation, and the doors were auctioned to bidders on Oct. 24, with proceeds supporting both Virginia Supportive Housing and Art On Wheels.
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