1. To raise awareness and funding for the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE), a valuable resource for children in foster care seeking their Forever Families.
2. To compensate artists for their time and expertise in creating handmade craft thus sustaining the livelihood of professional artists.
These two principles are at the core of Purchasing Art with Purpose, a charitable funding model focused on generating revenue for a non-profit while also supporting artists in the pursuit of a sustainable career in the arts.
Over 8,000 children are in foster care in the state of Massachusetts, 400,000 nationwide. Many of them are over the age of five and are in foster care for at least two years before finding their Forever Family. These children go unseen and unheard by mainstream America. Their stories are diverse, complicated and heartbreaking and these kids are AMAZING!
Every potter invariably has a cup or mug that just hasn’t sold. Much like these kids, its unique qualities have not been given their due. Potters across the nation have been invited to submit such a cup to this exhibition. In 2014 we received almost one hundred cups from sixteen states, all handmade by professional artists.
The Finding Forever Exhibition showcases handmade cups of stellar quality along with the imagery of MARE’s Heart Gallery to achieve these two goals. Nearly selling out on opening night, it was clear that the range and quality of the artist’s work was in demand and appreciated. Similarly, many attendees expressed their appreciation for having an opportunity to learn about MARE, the foster care system, and what the process is to become an adoptive family. Here are some comments from those who participated or attended the exhibition: “I had no idea adopting through foster care is free,” “thank you so much for doing an event like this in our community,” “as a mom of two adopted children, I am so pleased to contribute my work to such an exhibition.”
Finding Forever 