Love Is…

A Print, A Pause, A Path to Healing

This June, Broad Street Love welcomed back teaching artists from the Philadelphia Museum of Art for a weekly open art table, offered as part of our guest services every Wednesday. It’s more than just a creative outlet—it’s an oasis of Radical Hospitality and healing.

Many of our guests experience what we call a crisis of invisibility. They are passed on sidewalks without eye contact. Their stories are often unheard. At the art table, that invisibility starts to fade. In its place: color, curiosity, and connection.

Each week begins with a gentle invitation to participate. The teaching artists create a welcoming space, always starting with a warm-up. One recent prompt? A simple piece of paper printed with the words: Love Is… Guests are invited to fill the page in any way that feels right—with writing, drawing, or collage.

“Some people just need a space to settle before they’re ready to engage,” explains Andrew Christman, a PMA teaching artist. “We make space for people to be present with whatever feels most urgent in the moment.” Some guests arrive ready to create. Others swing by after receiving mail or seeing a member of our medical or legal team. Some watch quietly from the sidelines. And some—like Andreas—build trust over time.

The first week Andreas came, he just watched. The next week, he picked up a pencil and drew a stick figure. By his third visit, he walked straight to the table, complimented another guest’s work, and joyfully started his own—with a wide grin and the words: “Love is dope!”

On June 18, the main project was printmaking: guests painted a gel plate and used paper cutouts to create negative space in a layered print. Others brought in their own sketchbooks and personal art projects. One guest asked if the art table could be here every day.

And we understand why.

The arts offer more than creative expression. As research from the World Health Organization highlights,  “the arts hold promise in tackling difficult or complex problems for which there are not currently adequate solutions…this approach fits with current trends in health towards giving parity of esteem to mental health and also towards situating health problems within their social and community context (Fancourt, D & Finn, S 67).” 

The arts help people make meaning, express emotions, and recover from trauma. That’s what we see each week at the art table. And that’s why we’re so grateful for this partnership.

Together, Broad Street Love and the Philadelphia Museum of Art are creating space for guests to bring their whole selves, when they’re ready, and however they choose to show up. It’s a quiet revolution of care. It’s Radical Hospitality through color, texture, and trust.