“If you put a paintbrush in my hand, I’m no longer homeless.”
—Edwin Lockridge
Our Mission
Daybreak Arts is a nonprofit social enterprise that creates artistic and economic opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity by providing them access to the creative resources needed to achieve personal fulfillment and success.
Our Vision
Daybreak Arts believes in the limitless potential of every artist, no matter their circumstances. We envision a world where creativity knows no barriers.
We make art accessible to working class and low-income community members—especially those who are unhoused or housing insecure—helping them express themselves, share their stories, celebrate their talents, and rebuild their lives. Through creative experiences, we give community members new ways to see and connect with their unhoused neighbors.
Our Story
2011
After building relationships with people experiencing homelessness in high school, Daybreak Arts Founder, Nicole, started hosting “Community Arts Days” at homeless service nonprofit, Room In The Inn (RITI), in November 2011 through her work-study job as a Sophomore college student at Belmont University. Her Senior year of undergraduate, she interned at the Arts & Business Council and under the Art Therapist at RITI. During this time, Nicole began to evaluate and shape the program, as well as form a Board and file for 501(c)3 nonprofit status under the organization’s former name: Poverty and the Arts (POVA).
2014
Nicole graduated from Belmont University with a B.A. in May 2014 and the organization, ‘Poverty and the Arts' received its 501(c)3 nonprofit letter in July 2014. We launched our Artist Collective program with two inaugural artists and quickly grew to 10 artists within the first year. The Artist Collective program was fortunate enough to operate with minimum costs its first year through the generosity of Turnip Green Creative Reuse (TGCR) who let us use their downtown studio space and donated recycled art supplies free of charge. We continued to host “Community Arts Days” from 2011-2015 in partnership with RITI.
2015
In May 2015, we secured a rental property and transformed a dilapidated blue house into a Studio and Gallery in the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood to expand opportunities and accessibility for the artists in our Artist Collective program—most importantly allowing us to participate in the neighborhood’s monthly art crawl and gain more exposure. In 2016, a couple made a generous donation so we could purchase our own van to transport artists and artwork around town.
Today
In May 2018, the organization moved into a larger, more accessible Studio and Gallery space in East Nashville where we have an active roster of 26+ artists. Since 2014, we have served more than 125 artists and paid out more than $100,000 to artists experiencing housing insecurity. In 2020 and 2021, we went through a complete overhaul of our organization’s name and brand which is now called Daybreak Arts. Today, finished works by our artists are displayed in the gallery of our East Nashville space as well is in businesses and personal collections across the city, state, and country.
Art That Changes Lives
In December 2019, we teamed up with Soundstripe to release a mini-documentary video highlighting Kateri, one of Daybreak Arts’ first artists. Thank you Soundstripe for helping us share Kateri's inspiring success story!
“When I was homeless, I had a fear of people. Some days I would just come to Daybreak Arts to be with the other artists. They began to be my family. Art makes me feel comfortable about who I am inside.”
— Daybreak Artist, Gwendolyn Johnson