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KYRA COATES: ARTIST, NUN, MOTHER, HUMANITARIAN
One woman’ s fight to make a difference and find fulfilment
by Katie Smith
Cultures have been creating art to tell stories, preserve history, and express emotions for thousands of years. From the first cave drawings discovered in France, to the intricate paintings hanging in galleries today, artwork has an important place in our culture.
Art is often seen as a luxury. It’ s one of the first programs to be cut from school budgets. Large pieces are often relegated to expensive private collections or hidden away in galleries that don’ t serve a general population. Even when art is created by activists or artists from vulnerable populations, the artwork rarely serves those populations.
Artist Kyra Coates is seeking to challenge this traditional outlook of the art world. She’ s taking on the idea of art as luxury and is asking the question,“ What would it look like if art could provide service and empower vulnerable communities?”
These questions led her to create Infuse Gallery, the first online art gallery of its kind. Her vision marries the ideas of art as service, art as a way to make a living, and art as a way to empower individuals. She’ s teaming up artists who are driven to serve nonprofit organizations that empower vulnerable communities, and buyers who want their purchases to go further. Central Asia Institute is one of the first nonprofit organizations Infuse Gallery has partnered with.
A New Art Paradigm
Infuse Gallery’ s unique business model is based on the idea that service to others can also turn a profit. The Gallery supports at-risk populations by teaming up with artists who want to use their talents to serve others, nonprofit organizations that empower vulnerable communities, and socially conscious consumers.
These goals are accomplished through a three-part commitment. The gallery first vets charities and identifies organizations that work to empower disenfranchised populations. Artists – many of whom are very successful career artists( two even have had collections in the Museum of Modern Art in New York) – agree to donate a portion of the profit from each piece they sell to one of those nonprofit organizations, and the gallery matches that donation. Kyra also saves space in her gallery for aspiring artists from these communities to display their work and earn a living.
“ It’ s taking the idea of art as something elite and letting it be this powerful tool of creativity and potential for everyone: the creator, the buyer and the nonprofit,” Kyra explains.“ Everyone becomes connected to everybody else through this process.”
This fall one of CAI’ s scholarship students, Mushtari, will have her drawings featured in Infuse Gallery, and her drawings will be displayed to the public for the first time. The profit she makes from selling her artwork to an international audience will help
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Central Asia Institute.
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