Youth and Schools
Creative programs that strengthen literacy, communication, confidence, imagination, and social-emotional development.
Heard.Arts Amplifying Each Voice
Heard uses writing, visual art, improvisation, storytelling, and other creative practices to help people discover, strengthen, and share their voices.
Who we are
Every person has something worth expressing.
Heard brings professional teaching artists into schools, correctional facilities, shelters, recovery programs, and community spaces. Through hands-on arts experiences, participants build confidence, practice communication, explore identity, and connect with others.
About Heard
The Heard difference
Multidisciplinary
Participants explore writing, visual art, improvisation, performance, and other forms of expression.
Participant-centered
Programs are shaped around the people in the room, their experiences, and the ways they want to express themselves.
Built for community
Heard works in partnership with schools and organizations to create welcoming, responsive programs for the communities they serve.
Where we work
One organization. Many rooms, many disciplines.
Justice-Involved Communities
Writing, visual art, improvisation, and public-speaking programs that create space for reflection, expression, connection, and growth.
Recovery, Shelters, and Community Programs
Arts experiences that help participants explore identity, resilience, belonging, gratitude, hope, and future possibilities.
Older Adults and Intergenerational Communities
Creative experiences that invite memory, conversation, expression, and connection across generations.
Cumulative impact since Heard began
Our impact so far
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classes and workshops delivered to date
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participant experiences to date
- Multiple artistic disciplines
- Programs delivered in schools and community settings across Northern Virginia
- Partnerships built around the needs of each community
Participant voices
The work speaks for itself.
Participant work is shared with permission. Some names may be withheld to protect privacy.
Watch
See Heard in action.
Inside every Heard workshop is a moment when someone takes a creative risk, tries something new, or realizes their voice matters.
Partner voices
What partners tell us.
“Participants continue asking when the program will return.”
Teaching artists in action
Twenty seconds inside the room.
Teaching artists
Artists who know how to listen.
Heard's teaching artists bring professional creative experience, empathy, flexibility, and respect into every room — and every one of them is paid for their work.
Elizabeth (Betsy) Allen
Creative writing
Elizabeth (Betsy) Allen holds a BA in Journalism from The Ohio State University and an MA in English and MFA in Fiction Writing from George Mason University. She teaches Advanced Composition at George Mason University and has worked as a communications specialist, editor, and creative writing instructor. Betsy believes in the power of storytelling to foster empathy and shared humanity.
Ann Altar
Visual art, performance & improvisation
Ann Altar is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans visual art, performance, improvisation, and education. Her practice often incorporates recycled materials and challenges traditional artistic norms, emphasizing vulnerability, autonomy, and connection. As a teaching artist, Ann brings deep listening and collaborative practice into learning environments, believing in universal access to the arts as a catalyst for community change.
Nikki Brooks
Visual & multidisciplinary art
Nikki Brooks is a multidisciplinary artist with more than 25 years of experience working across installation, assemblage, painting, collage, and digital media. She holds a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Nikki's teaching centers social engagement, storytelling, and inclusive creative practice.
What could Heard make possible in your community?
Heard collaborates with schools and organizations to design arts experiences for the people they serve. Programs may be offered as a single workshop, a short series, or an ongoing partnership.
Start a Conversation
Support Heard
Help amplify the next voice.
Your support helps Heard bring professional teaching artists, creative materials, and meaningful arts experiences to communities throughout Northern Virginia.