Hearts & Arts Foundation Makes Austin Debut With Immersive Art Experience

Austin art visionary Karen Lai and Anthoula Wojczak launch new nonprofit delivering immersive arts experiences that bring artists and community together.

AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES, March 30, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In a city celebrated for its creative culture, a new nonprofit is inviting Austinites into a space where art is meant to be felt as deeply as it is seen. Hearts & Arts Foundation, founded by Austin art visionary and advocate Karen Lai, in tandem with Anthoula Wojczak, will officially launch on Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 2 PM to 4:30 PM at a private T11 Car Condo at COTA.

The opening gathering brings artists and attendees together in an immersive setting designed to spark connection through shared artistic engagement. The debut reflects a growing movement in Austin where artists, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders are creating new spaces for cultural exchange and artistic collaboration.

Hearts & Arts Foundation is built on a simple premise: creative expression becomes more meaningful through active participation. Through interactive programming and artist collaborations, the nonprofit cultivates environments where visual expression sparks conversation, encourages collaboration, and broadens participation in Austin’s arts community.

For founder Karen Lai and co-founder Anthoula Wojczak, the concept is rooted in a shared belief in art as a vehicle for connection, shaped by distinct yet complementary professional paths.

For Lai, the concept grew out of a life shaped by art, travel, and the restorative power of creative practice. Born in Newport Beach and raised in Los Angeles, Lai later lived in Tokyo and Honolulu before settling in Austin. In California she worked as a therapist, helping individuals use artistic practice as a pathway toward emotional healing and self-discovery.

Wojczak brings a background in art and civic engagement, alongside her work as a software engineer at Adobe. Her experience navigating both technical and human-centered environments informs the foundation’s operational structure and community-focused programming.

These combined experiences shaped their perspective that artistic expression can bridge communities and foster genuine human connection. Together, Lai and Wojczak approach the foundation with the instincts of a curator and the perspective of a community builder.

“Hearts & Arts was created from a simple belief that art has the power to bring people together in meaningful ways,” said founder Lai. “Art should be accessible. Always. In Austin, where art often appears in unexpected places, transforming a private car condo into an immersive environment felt like the right way to introduce this vision.”

For its opening celebration, the foundation will transform a private automotive car condo into a serene artistic landscape. Flowing white drapery, eucalyptus greenery, and organic textures soften the venue’s industrial architecture, creating an airy, garden-inspired environment where art, nature, and design converge.

Guests will move through a series of immersive art moments, contributing to collaborative pieces and experiencing artists working throughout the space.
Program highlights include:

• Interactive art installations
• Live artist demonstrations
• Shadow art and community drawing table
• Collaborative Hearts & Arts mosaic installation

Austin-based artists will activate the venue across a range of disciplines, including furniture restoration, decorative painting, live canvas work, modern calligraphy, artisan jewelry, wearable abstract art, and large-scale floral styling. The venue will take on the feel of an open studio where art unfolds in real time.

Among the featured artists is Sabah Bardhan of Just Restore, an internationally recognized furniture artist born in Mumbai who spent more than 7 years restoring and creating furniture art in Dubai before relocating to Austin. Her intricate craftsmanship gained international recognition when a hand-painted furniture piece which took 6 weeks to complete with 100s of stripes in several colours won the 2021 Global Zibra Golden Brush Awards in the Multicolour category and once again in 2026 for a striking hand painted peacock artwork on a chest of drawers in the “Detail Devotion” category. She was also the first furniture artist in Asia to become Annie Sloan’s Painter in Residence in 2021.  

Alongside its events and artist collaborations, the foundation is launching its Creative Access Initiative, designed to expand participation in the arts. At least one seat at every Hearts & Arts program will be reserved for individuals who may face barriers to participation, including essential workers, foster families, multigenerational households, single caregiver households, and individuals experiencing housing insecurity.

“I’ve always believed in the transformative power of art,” Wojczak said. “The opportunity to connect artistic expression with meaningful social impact was simply too important to pass up.”

The opening celebration is generously hosted by Quantum ePay, the payment processing company founded by entrepreneur Jerry Lai in 2008 with headquarters in California and Texas. Lai opened the doors of the company’s Austin headquarters at the Circuit of the Americas T11 Car Community providing a distinctive backdrop where innovation, entrepreneurship, and artistic expression intersect.

Donations to support the mission of Hearts & Arts Foundation are welcomed online.

Event Details:

Saturday, April 11, 2026

2 PM – 4:30 PM

Private T11 Car Condo at COTA — 8001 Circuit of the Americas Blvd, Del Valle, TX 78617

About Hearts & Arts Foundation: Hearts & Arts Foundation is an Austin 501(c)(3) nonprofit producing immersive arts programming designed to inspire connection, support artists, and expand access to the arts. Through collaborative programs and community-centered initiatives, the organization brings artists and audiences into shared spaces where art is explored, experienced, and discovered collectively.

Stacey Barker
Jade Umbrella
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