Art Rescue Mission Legacy
Artist Rescue Mission (ARM), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was founded in 1994 during the war in Bosnia with a simple but radical idea: give artists in conflict zones the tools and support they need to tell their own stories. It has now been revived to service the artists in the visual, performing, and literary Arts in the present day.
The organization began when Houston artist and activist Gertrude Barnstone approached fellow artist Dan Allison. Barnstone knew exactly who to call, Allison had deep ties in the region, having toured Bosnia in 1987 and 1989 with exhibitions sponsored by the U.S. Information Agency. He wasn’t just familiar with the terrain; he was a recognized and respected name among the country’s art community.
At that time, massive humanitarian efforts were underway, but many had ground to a halt. Shipments from well-funded organizations like the Soros Foundation were stalled, their crates sitting immobile on docks, unable to pass through the choke points of war. In contrast, the artists inside Sarajevo weren’t asking for food or clothing. What they needed most, they said, was a way to speak, tools to document what was happening around them, to counter the tide of propaganda, and to ensure their voices weren’t erased.
City of Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina 1990
ARM Bridge Exhibition Catalog, Pennzoil Place Exhibition, Houston TX 1994
Barnstone and Allison responded with a bold, nimble plan. After raising funds at a benefit hosted by the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, they filled 50 boxes with essential supplies, ramen noodles, medicine, daily necessities, but hidden carefully beneath the surface, wrapped in plain brown paper, were the real treasures: cameras, tape recorders, batteries, and media gear. These items were the means for artists to record the truth and send it beyond their besieged borders. These items were also not permitted to cross checkpoints on their way from Slovenia to Bosnia.
Gertrude added one final idea to disguise the media package. Knowing how suspicious eyes could scan aid shipments, she proposed padding the top layers of each box with feminine hygiene products, bras, and underwear, items no soldier was eager to dig through. The supplies were packed at Allison’s studio and quietly sent on their way. It was a bold move, but it worked. In the end, halfway between Ljubljana and the city of Mostar, a big burly Serbian captain snipped the security tag off the back of the truck, sliced open the first box, plowed through the ramen noodles, candy bars, and a medicine chest worth of daily necessities to the bottom of the box, recoiled like he'd just found a snake, gave the universal sign in a circular hand gesture in the air to wind it up, “they're good to go”, and the media treasure made it through, safely tucked beneath an armor of undergarments.
Houston Chronicle News object above courtesy of Houston based photographer, collector, and Houston based activist Melissa Noble
Dan Allison, pictured below in the city of Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina, ARM relief & documentation equipment delivery supply mission, 1994
ARM, Artist Rescue Mission flyer 1994, nonprofit organization to assist artists in areas of conflict providing materials to express their point of view and a venue for exhibition outside their region of crisis
ARM (Artist Rescue Mission) Mission 1994 BRIDGE exhibition, programing, and results
After ARM returned to Houston, the artists sent the photos via fax machine out of Sarajevo. These were exhibited at the Barbara Davis Gallery in Pennzoil Place in early 1995. The images were printed on fine rag paper, placed into archival document bags, and sold for $100 each. The project raised another $6,000, which was wired directly back to the artists, no intermediaries, no red tape, supporting their communities at a time of urgent need.
As the war continued, ARM expanded its mission. In April of 1995, it mounted an ambitious dual-site exhibition and benefit titled Bridge, as part of the Houston International Festival’s “Public Pictures” program. The event featured large-scale reproductions installed outdoors in Tranquility Park, along with original works by Houston artists and images from Sarajevo displayed at the Davis Gallery in Pennzoil Place. The opening reception included a live press conference connecting attendees directly to the artists in Sarajevo via broadcast, a literal bridge between worlds, built through art.
1994 ARM Mission Statement: ARTIST RESCUE MISSION, INC. (.ARM) seeks to support and assist in areas of conflict, providing materials to express their point of view and avenue for exhibition outside their region of crisis. INITIAL CONTACT PROGRAM. ARM identifies crisis areas through conventional news sources and elects to "'target" a region based on need the feasibility of completing the project, and artistic activity in the area prior to the crisis.
Pictured above, Houston Chronicle, Contemporary Art Museum, initial fundraiser Wednesday May 25th 1994, Houston Texas. Below portraite of Gertrude Barnstone 1940s
That first wave of programming also formalized ARM’s working model: identifying regions in crisis, making first contact with artists, and delivering materials, cameras, recorders, sketchbooks, and necessities, while gathering real-time documentation of life under duress. ARM’s goal was always twofold: to provide practical aid, and to create a traveling exhibition that told the truth of conflict through the eyes of the people living it. In doing so, ARM offered an alternative to conventional media, shifting the narrative from tragedy to resilience, from silence to self-expression.
Today, Artist Rescue Mission carries that spirit forward, refocusing its efforts here in Texas, where many artists, especially in the visual and performing arts, face their own crises, often quietly, invisibly. Health emergencies, financial instability, housing insecurity, and aging out of support systems can sideline creative voices that are vital to our culture. ARM is committed to making sure they’re not left behind.
Through its Restore initiative, ARM provides resources and time for artists recovering from sudden illness or injury. The Shelter program helps subsidize housing and studio storage for visual artists, often funded through signature events like the ARMOND Awards. Assistance programs support musicians, writers, and performing artists, especially those in their later years, giving them the breathing room to create. Meanwhile, the Preservation initiative, centered around ARM Station, serves as a growing digital archive for artists to document, share, and protect their work. This platform also provides tools for crowdfunding, research access, and community support.
Whether smuggling cameras into Sarajevo or helping a Texas artist keep their creative spark alive, ARM’s mission remains unchanged: to protect and uplift artists where systems fail, and to make space for their voices when the world needs them most.
PROGRAM IN T WO PARTS
PART ONE: Because of the diversity of artistic disciplines, and circumstances that surround the variety of situations Artist Rescue Mission will encounter. ARM has standardized the delivery of artists' materials. providing cameras, tape recorders, and basic drawing tools on initial visits. Daily necessities unlike art materials can and will be specifically suited to the general needs of the disaster at hand on the first "'contact" visit. (i.e. include vaccine where there is an epidemic, warm clothing where it is needed.) Artists participating in the program will be asked to complete a «wish list" that ARM will use to select art supplies particular to their individual needs. While they document their immediate situation through photography and recordings, ARM will work on their individual supply lists.
PART TWO: Before and during the rescue effort ARM will explore the options for exhibiting the resulting photographs and, artists' recordings. ARM will return to pick up the photographs and tape recordings for exhibition, and at the same time deliver items requested by the individual artists from their "wish list". These items will include both specifically requested art supplies and daily necessities.
ULTIMATE GOALS. To deliver practical aid into troubled areas, while arranging for the exhibition of a constantly traveling, "real time"' crisis museum that expresses the thoughts, beliefs, and hopes of the people involved institutions that are currently unfolding. Works in this exhibition would be revised over time as ARM becomes involved in new target areas.
RESULT. Unlike conventional broadcast news sources, ARM provides an opportunity for direct contact with the individuals involved in areas of concern, and focuses on communicating their ideas about solutions to problems rather than reporting the resulting tragedies. ARM is a "helping hand" in crisis situations opening a window of understanding through the arts in a world of ever increasing diversity.
ARM in 1994 - 1995
"BRIDGE" a visual arts exhibition and benefit on two
sites opening April 18 through May 28, 1995.
It is part of The Houston International Festival's "Public Pictures» program. An unveiling of the large scale works in the show will take place in Tranquility Park in downtown Houston at 11:00 a.m. on April 18,
and will be followed by an opening reception at 7:00 p.m. for the artists and related works at the Davis/McClain Pennzoil Place Gallery. A percentage of the proceeds from the sales of art in the exhibition will go to benefit the artists and their communities in Sarajevo. Sponsored by Davis/McClain Gallery and the Patrick Media Group and organized by the Houston based non profit group Artist Rescue Mission (ARM), "Bridge" includes works by area artists Jim Martin, Sharon Kopriva, and Benito Huerta as well as images from artists now living and working in Sarajevo.
THEME: The exhibition focuses on the interaction between artists and the communities in which they live, as well as establishing a link with artists living in areas of distress. In 1994, ARM established communications by phone, fax and person contact while delivering relief supplies to artists in the besieged city of Sarajevo. ARM provides artists both materials to express their point of view and offers them the possibility for exhibition outside their regional crisis.
LOCATION NUMBER ONE: Patrick Media Group will reproduce one of each of the participating artists' works for exhibition during the Houston International Festival. These large scale outdoor works will be installed on the grounds of Tranquility Park and be on display for approximately thirty days. The public is invited to join the unveiling ceremony at 11:00 a.m. on April 18 in Tranquility Park Celebrate Houston's international involvement in these current events and artists everywhere working to find creative solutions in an ever changing world.
LOCATION NUMBER TWO: Davis/McClain Gallery bas generously donated Pennzoil Place Gallery, located near the Houston Festival site and Tranquility Park in the Pennzoil Building, for an exhibition of original works by Houston artists and images from Sarajevo. A reception for the artists will be held from 7:00 to 9:30 pm. on April 18, 1995. The artists and visitors will be invited at that time to speak directly with the artists in Sarajevo at a live press conference for broadcast in Sarajevo and KPFT in Houston. For more information about the event or ARM, please contact Gertrude Batstone at 713-528-0397 or Dan Allison at 713-864-3737.
ARTIST RESCUE MISSION, INC. (.ARM) seeks to support and assist artists in areas of conflict, providing materials to express their point of view and a venue for exhibition outside their region of crisis.
INITIAL CONTACT PROGRAM. ARM identifies crisis areas through conventional news sources and elects to "'target" a region based on nee~ the feasibility of completing the project, and artistic activity in the area prior to the crisis.
ARM Co-founder Dan Allison, Bosnia, 1994
Art Rescue Mission "Bridge" Catalog Pages
Houston Artist Sharon Kopriva
Houston Artist Benito Huerta
