“Where Creativity and Community Take Root”
The Bronx Butterfly Community Arts Initiative is a participatory, community-rooted program that uses visual and literary arts to spark connection, healing, and cultural storytelling — from letters to murals, from fridge painting to collaborative writing, all centered on shared human messages.At its core, our initiative thrives because people contribute, connect, and co-create.. We're not just delivering art — we’re activating community through it.
Our Mission
Our mission is to use visual and literary arts as tools for connection, healing, and community-building in the Bronx and beyond. Through collaborative projects — from letter-writing to murals, public art, and storytelling — we invite people of all ages to participate in creative acts that uplift, inspire, and transform.
About Us
Founder & Creative Director: Andrea Marie
Andrea Marie is a Bronx native with over10 years of accumulated professional and volunteer experience in the NYC public education system, certified mental health first aider, self taught artist, poet and writer.Her grassroots arts-based movement is deeply rooted in her childhood community experiences the power of mutual aid, communal support and collective participation during challenging times of racial trauma, public health issues( suicide loss, mental health), gun violence and poverty.In 2021 Andrea started a "social- emotional support project ' combining collage art with digital letter donations for public school students who were returning to school from remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic.By engaging the public through visual and literary arts that spark healing, storytelling, and connection.Since then, this project has evolved into a community-based, arts-driven initiative: virtual and in person letter writing campaigns, curating community art collages , painting murals and fridges with uplifting themes and more. Every project is built on shared contribution.Andrea collaborate with artists, educators, wellness advocates, and neighborhood partners to bring beauty, voice, and purpose into public and private spaces. Her belief in creativity is not just expression — it's a community practice.Andrea is the proud recipient of the NYC Celebrates Women 22 Women of Color Transforming 2022 Outstanding Leadership Award.
Contact Us
Our Programs
Letters. Murals. Messages. Movement
Our programs use visual and literary arts as tools for connection, healing, and community-building in the Bronx and beyond.Through collaborative projects — from letter-writing to murals, public art, and storytelling — we invite people of all ages to participate in creative acts that uplift, inspire, and transform.[Description text; Sample Text. Use menu options to change size, text, and positioning. Insert images below or above this text to automatically align them.]