Our Background
LiveArts Studio was founded in 2002 by Desire’e Simpson, Ed.D. Dr. Simpson is a practicing artist, designer and educator who created LAS as an organization to richly expose individuals to art, design and the business of the arts industry, and also to teach art as a way of helping meet some unmet needs.
The inspiration for LiveArts Studio came as a result of Dr. Simpson’s humanitarian experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer while serving in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. There she worked with artisans as a designer in the Small Entrepreneur Development Program. She assisted artisans with their products; design development, exporting, marketing, etc. She saw how such a program was successful in assisting artisans in a developing country become economically self-sufficient, and how, though economically marginalized, artisans with micro enterprises were able to contribute to the local and national economy. She felt that a similar such program could be as beneficial to individuals in the United States, providing opportunities for them to use their creative voice to contribute to the economy through their artistic talent. She incorporated her educational training in interior architecture and design and fine arts and education as tools of social change, developing LiveArts Studio as a cultural art, education and entrepreneurial institution. LiveArts Studio inspires enthusiasm in art, develops personal interests, and hones artistic talent.
