About the project

Try to imagine a world without art. No paintings. No sculptures. No poetry.

Can you?

A world without art is no world for anyone — especially a child. Yet every day, countless children around the world have no access to arts programs ... at a time when their young minds crave creative expression the most.

We don’t want to live in a world without art. And we’re willing to make a small donation to keep that from happening.

Are you?

We’re raising money for Room 13 International — an organization that gives kids all over the world a place to let their minds and hands create art of any type. (Scroll to the bottom of the page for more information on Room 13 International.) It’s a fantastic group that relies on donations to stay alive. And we want to help.

Will you?

How You Can Help Prevent a World Without Art

1. Click to Donate
It couldn’t be easier. Make a Paypal donation that goes directly to Room 13 International. We promise you’ll feel great afterward!

2. Join The Hunt
By participating in The Hunt, you not only help prevent a world without art, but you can also briefly (and, thankfully, temporarily) experience that world yourself.

We’ll tell you and up to three teammates locations where you can find notable works of art throughout the city of Des Moines. When you do, look for the QR code placed near the artwork. Snap a photo of it with a smartphone to log your find — and see what that part of the world would look like without art. The team that finds all the locations the fastest wins a great prize ... and every team will help to prevent a world without art.

About Room 13 International

Room 13 is a place where kids’ imaginations run free. It’s an after-school art studio for expressing creativity through painting, drawing, drama, poetry and storytelling — any form of artistic expression children desire. There are more than 60 Room 13 art studios in 13 countries around the world.

Room 13 is run by the children themselves. They have their own management team, and they choose an adult artist-in-residence to act as their employee and run the studio like a business.

In addition to donations, Room 13 is funded by designing and selling original art, holiday cards, calendars and even corporate gifts.