Twenty years ago, Randi Pupkin left her job as an attorney to start a nonprofit arts group. Today, Art with a Heart brings free arts classes into schools, community centers, group homes, shelters, hospitals and retirement communities. Photo Courtesy of Art with a Heart

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Rendering Courtesy of Art with a Heart

In November, a new 1,000-pound heart sculpture will be installed in downtown Baltimore near the intersection of Charles and Hanover Streets.

Standing eight feet tall and six feet wide, the work brings to mind the famous “LOVE” statue in Philadelphia, according to Randi Pupkin, 58, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Art with a Heart. Pupkin’s staff, students and volunteers are creating the work in collaboration with the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.

Titled “The Heart of Baltimore,” the three-dimensional sculpture will be covered in a mosaic of glass and mirror as well as ceramic hearts.

The massive project is “founded in the hope, resilience and ‘charm’ at the core of our great city,” Pupkin said.

Art classes for all

Art with a Heart, Inc. celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The popular community organization offers interactive visual art classes to schools, community centers, group homes, retirement communities, hospitals — and every individual who wants to learn about creating art.

“Generally, if you’ve always had an interest in becoming an artist, you’re welcome to participate,” Pupkin said.

Based in north Baltimore City, Art with a Heart offers free art classes to students of all ages and skill sets. “We especially target Baltimore’s ‘most compromised’ parts of the community,” Pupkin said.

In the past year, the nonprofit has provided more than 12,000 visual art classes, engaged more than 4,000 volunteers, and installed 39 public art pieces. Since its inception, it has installed 300 public art projects. Through its workforce development program called HeARTworks, Art with a Heart teaches essential job skills to more than 100 students over age 14.

The organization also brings together high school students from local private and public high schools through its Art of Leadership program, which encourages civic participation.

With the motto “enhancing the lives of people in need through visual art,” the nonprofit’s other efforts include volunteer opportunities and a retail store that sells pieces of art made by its students.

The store, called HeARTwares, is housed in the organization’s office building, a converted century-old mill overlooking the Jones Falls, located at 3000 Falls Road, near the Baltimore Museum of Art.

From attorney to artist

Pupkin grew up in a middle-class Baltimore County family and graduated from Milford High School and the University of Lynchburg. After earning her J.D. from the University of Baltimore, Pupkin worked as a construction litigation attorney in downtown Baltimore, focused on contract disputes and collections.

After 14 years in law, Pupkin one day realized she had “had enough,” she said.

“I had just had a fight with a lawyer, and I looked around my office,” she said. “I thought, ‘If this is like chapter five of my life, and chapter 25 could be the same, I need to pursue a totally different ending.’ I was really tired of fighting with other lawyers. I wanted to combine my passion for love of people and my love of art.”

So, in March of 2000, with the support of her husband, Dr. Andrew Pupkin, and their three now-adult children, Art with a Heart came to fruition.

She started by teaching art classes in Baltimore, hauling art supplies in the trunk of her car.

“It’s definitely been a family affair for 20 years, especially in the early years,” Pupkin said. “My husband would feed the kids. There was lots of familial support: They volunteered, helping me with classes, and they still do.”

Although Pupkin left the legal field, her experience still comes in handy, she said.

“I don’t miss the adversity of being a lawyer, but the education and experience of being a lawyer serves me well every day,” she said. “When you run a business, you’ve got to think about things more critically.”

Pupkin also finds time to serve on several boards for local organizations, including the Elijah Cummings Youth Program, the Baltimore Library Project, Shalom Tikvah, and Towson University’s Department of Family Studies and Community Development.

A new Baltimore icon

Pupkin, her staff of 13 and dozens of volunteers are excited to see their heart sculpture, a potential symbol of Baltimore, installed this fall.

“The sculpture will represent the creativity, devotion and support of a wide variety of Baltimore stakeholders who will be engaged in its creation in a safe manner, given the challenges of the current pandemic,” she said.

“I’m humbled because I started off in the trunk of my car,” Pupkin said, “and now we’re a very respected organization within the community.”

For more information about Art with a Heart, visit artwithaheart.net or call (410) 366-8886.

Correction: The print version of this story neglected to mention that the sculpture is being created by students as well as staff and volunteers. In addition, Ms. Pupkin started teaching in Baltimore, not Baltimore schools. To clarify, although the classes are typically free for students, they are paid for by Art with a Heart’s community partners. We regret the errors.