herARTS in Action

With a Drop of Access, We Change the World.

A single drop — of clean water, opportunity, or artistic expression — can ripple out to transform lives.

This Give to the Max Day…

We invite you to give — not just to a cause, but to a movement. We are raising $6,000 for education and entrepreneurship programs.

Your donation directly funds:

• Clean water and education in Burkina Faso

• Art-based learning and literacy in Minnesota schools

• Mentorship and access for emerging BIPOC artists

• Expansion to other regions in West Africa, including Côte d’Ivoire and Chad

Help us continue bridging people, purpose, and resources for global impact.

Donate today. Create change forever.

Thanks to your generous support, herARTS in Action has already:

• Provided clean water and sanitation to over 150,000 people in Burkina Faso through solar-powered wells and latrines.

• Sponsored 30 girls in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone with the supplies and support needed to thrive in school.

• Taught thousands of children in Minnesota through arts-integrated education programs focused on literacy, self-esteem, and social change.

• Mentored dozens of BIPOC youth artists, curated public murals, and brought inclusive art experiences to underrepresented communities.

Who We Are

herARTS in Action is a Minnesota-based, Black- and woman-led 501c3 nonprofit founded in 2011 and granted NGO status in Burkina Faso in 2018.

Our mission is to create an equitable world through increased access and social justice — using art as the tool.

We work across borders, connecting:

• Art to education

• Creativity to clean water

• Stories to systems change

We envision a world where:

1. Women and girls have sustainable access to education, employment, and health, created with cultural respect and community voice.

2. Children receive the resources needed to succeed — in and beyond the classroom.

3. Art is accessible to all, especially those historically excluded from creative spaces.

Sarah’s experience in Burkina Faso in her words

In 2011 I visited the West African country of Burkina Faso as an inspired artist. I arrived there with much enthusiasm to create but unaware of the magnitude of the country’s poor living conditions. I quickly learned about the low literacy rate, which is one of the lowest in the world. I also learned that only 11% of the people have access to toilets and 50% have access to clean water. While I knew the region faced poverty, I didn’t realize that it ranked in the top five most impoverished countries in the world.

At some point during my visit I fell ill from the poor sanitation and unsafe water and ended up in the hospital instead of on the plane that was to take me home (I literally heard the plane take off from my hospital room). Now, bedridden in the hospital with access to care that many Burkinabe didn’t, not only did I know the conditions, but I could empathize from firsthand experience with their daily struggles to a lack of access to clean water and sanitation. 

However, just because I saw need through my lens, it didn’t mean Burkina Faso needed me to do anything. By having respectful dialogues, collaboration with the villagers of Tiebele resulted in a decision to bring water and sanitation to the village in order for them to get healthy to attend education and obtain employment.

When I returned to the US after a month’s stay, I researched water projects to bring attention to the need in Tiebele. Unfortunately, no organizations were working, nor willing to, in the south-central region of Burkina Faso. 

Inspired by the Burkinabe spirit, I was called to take on the task and started herARTS in Action. My dedication and passion for this work have found me conducting business out of my one-bedroom apartment that I share with my daughter and local coffee shops. I don’t have an art studio, but create art on my living room floor with my daughter next to me working on her own projects. I’ve also had the privilege to partner with Burkinabe artists, and I hope to continue partnerships with other artists to create awareness about the work with the village.