The healing power of art with Lily Yeh

What It Covers

Artist Lily Yeh transformed a North Philadelphia abandoned lot into a mosaic sculpture garden with children and community members, then replicated this healing-through-art model in Kenya, Rwanda, and other broken places worldwide.

Key Questions Answered

• •Building as transformation: Working with drug-addicted community members to construct beautiful public spaces provided cleansing purpose. One participant, James "Big Man" Maxton, recovered from 20 years of addiction, became managing director, and established narcotic anonymous meetings for others.
• •Beauty as essential infrastructure: Beauty functions as a core public good, not luxury. In impoverished communities, creating aesthetic environments through collaborative art-making addresses human dignity and hope alongside material needs like water, housing, and income generation.
• •Process over product: Transformation happens through the building process itself, not just the finished work. When communities co-create art for their own spaces, participants discover hidden talents, form deep bonds, and develop ownership that sustains projects long-term.
• •Starting small in ignored spaces: Begin projects in abandoned, low-value locations where experimentation is permitted. Provide basic materials, listen to community voices, and allow participants to take creative control. Initial failures over several years often precede breakthrough success.