MEET THE ARTIST
“I believe art is a powerful way to help heal, inspire change, spread important messages and make a difference in our communities.”
– Amy burkman
Amy’s story
Fifteen years ago, Amy had a realization that she wanted to combine her love of art with her passion for helping others. It started with volunteering at children’s hospitals and foster homes doing art with kids. Then in 2010, she had the unique opportunity to travel to Mali, West Africa, where she co-founded a program called “Educate Through Art” and painted health-related educational murals with the help of Peace Corp Volunteers in multiple villages.
Upon her return home, Amy started performing live art in San Diego to educate the public about endangered species. That evolved into doing live art to raise money for various charities part-time. But in 2013, she was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer. Once she got through treatment, Amy realized she wanted to pursue her dream of doing art to help others full time so she quit her day job and it’s taken her all over the country and world.
She set a goal to raise $1 million dollars for charities and in 2020 she reached that goal. Since then she’s continued to raise millions of dollars for charities including children’s hospitals, cancer research groups, animal rescues and many others.
“Amy’s talent, if you’ve never experienced it in person, is captivating, awe-inspiring and was the highlight of the evening for every one of our guests.”
KIM CAREY
California Wolf Center
Notable features
- Millions raised for charities through live art performances including children’s hospitals, cancer research, animal welfare groups and many others
- TEDx Keynote Speaker
- Artwork featured on TV shows including Discovery Channel, Stephen Colbert, Million Stories: Wags to Riches
- Worked with celebrities including Tig Notaro, Sarah Silverman, Alfonso Ribeiro, Mike Tyson, Terry Crews, Switchfoot, The Beach Boys
- Featured in news outlets including NowThis News, Elysian Magazine: Women Inspiring Women and local new stations (KSBW & KAZU FM)
- Artwork featured in billboard campaigns in CA and UK helping to make a positive impact on our planet and environment
- Partnership w/ West Elm to create a Social Justice Warrior wall art series benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- Artist in Residence at the infamous Sowden House
- Executive Director of the nonprofit Good Art Project
- Co-founder of “Educate Through Art,” a program creating health-related murals in West Africa
