Arts and Well-Being Series, Part Three: How ArtVan Brings Mobile Art Therapy Directly To Maine’s Youth

As part one of our series highlights, research shows that the arts can have a profound impact on our individual and communal well-being. From fostering more compassionate communities to reducing stress and boosting self-esteem, participating in or observing the arts can change lives.

When organizations integrate art activities with clinical therapeutic practices, their work often results in true trauma-informed healing. ArtVan, an Onion Foundation grantee since 2016, exemplifies this work, using its brightly colored 15-passenger van to bring clinical art therapy to communities within midcoast Maine.

As a free, mobile, youth-oriented service that believes in the transformative power of art therapy, ArtVan has been “keeping the arts rolling” since 2004 — and changing lives at every stop.

Meeting an Urgent Need

Like many nonprofits, ArtVan was created to fill a gap. Jamie Silvestri, the organization’s founder and current program director, had previously offered professional psychiatric and community care for 17 years, working with youth with mental health conditions, incarcerated individuals, and people living with AIDS.

Through this work, Silvestri discovered a significant community need: “There’s a lack of art education in middle schools — largely due to budget cuts — and an influx of low-income families who aren't able to afford after-school programs,” Silvestri says. “It took a few years to figure out how to best serve those communities, and ArtVan evolved out of that work.”

Since then, the organization has grown significantly, engaging youth throughout Cumberland, Androscoggin, Sagadahoc, and Oxford counties. In the 2023-2024 school year alone, the ArtVan team brought art therapy programs to more than 500 young people. The kids used watercolors, clay, oil pastels, tape, and other materials to process and express their emotions, particularly those related to crisis events like the pandemic, the horrific shooting in Lewiston, and devastating flooding in midcoast Maine.

An Evolving Approach to Art Therapy

In every touchpoint, the ArtVan team approaches their work with three core values in mind:

• Respect of oneself as an artist and human being

• Respect for others whom we serve and with whom we collaborate

• Respect for the space around us and all materials and equipment

While these values have remained constant, Silvestri and her team are always thinking about how to advance their work. “We’re constantly analyzing how we’re continuing to service the changing mental health needs of different populations,” she says. “What’s the newest trend for diagnosis? Or for interventions? How do we continue to do what we believe is working and continue to evolve?”

These critical questions have led Silvestri to expand her team, “understanding our strengths and pulling in others to use their expertise.” Debbie Forester, ArtVan’s executive director, joined the team two years ago, bringing new strategic insights to grow the organization. “We want to expand the breadth and depth of our programs,” Forester says. “But we also want to share the value of art therapy with the wider world.”

For Forester, Silvestri, and their team, the value of art therapy is amplified within group settings. “The group structure helps everyone take ownership of their own healing. We hold space and inspire the youth to bring out each other’s strengths,” Silvestri says. “We all have some trauma that may play itself out in life, so how do we as a collective use art as a way of healing that?”

A Vehicle for Healing and Connection

Healing is just one of the remarkable benefits youth experience through ArtVan. Kids gain a sense of belonging, community integration, and a safe space to acknowledge and process their complex emotions. And art therapy is the medium for driving these wellness benefits: “Art therapy is about building an intimate relationship for deeper healing work,” says Silvestri. “It’s not just the art, but also emphasizing the creative process. There’s body language and storytelling, and we model art making to help the youth engage.”

After the Lewiston shooting, for example, Silvestri visited her regular neighborhoods to engage young people in clay art — a messy medium that mirrored the messy situation, Silvestri notes. “They all talked about fear and confusion and sadness. And then we used clay to express those feelings. This work is about becoming the clay to build compassion for ourselves and others.”

In the 20 years since its founding, ArtVan has helped youth through a number of these types of situations: Students mourning the tragic loss of their classmate. A young artist coping with tumultuous home transitions. Young people imagining entirely new worlds using watercolors. In each of these examples and many others, the kids get a “low-risk, but high-impact” method for exploring their deepest emotions, Forester says — primarily because of the mobile art therapy model.

“The mobile piece gives us a freedom to enter into their world,” says Silvestri. “The kids feel confidence and ownership of their community. I can also talk to their parents and hear about what’s going on in their neighborhood.” Forester notes that “the van also serves as a symbol. It’s great because it carries our supplies, but it also triggers excitement.”

The Future of ArtVan

As the bright, bold ArtVan rolls up to a neighborhood, children and their families know they have a safe space to make art, make friends, and hold challenging emotions with care. “We receive each individual youth with their full potential and with love as a human being figuring life out like the rest of us,” says Silvestri.

Looking forward, Silvestri and Forester see ArtVan’s potential to impact even more children throughout Maine. They’ve recently hired more staff to increase their ability to run multiple programs at once, and they’ll continue building capacity to reach more families and neighborhoods.

For Maine’s youth — especially those who can’t easily access therapy — ArtVan is a haven. And as our communities face ongoing challenges and difficult emotions, the van will be there to help.