Our Story
May 2020
As the Covid-19 lockdown reached its first full month, Jill Turner, founder of Painting Pandas, launched a fundraising campaign to supply art materials to 650 students from a Title 1 school in Austin, TX.
April 2022
Painting Pandas initiated an Annual Mental Health Day partnership with Austin Achieve School, offering therapeutic art classes to 300 students in need of relief from academic stress.
March 2023
In its first international endeavor, Painting Pandas collaborated with the Turkish Embassy and Turkish Airlines to deliver art-based relief to earthquake refugees in Turkey, providing a creative outlet amid crisis.
June 2024
The summer of 2024 marked the start of a collaboration between Painting Pandas and the Austin Parks Foundation, with Painting Pandas hosting free art workshops in parks and gardens across Austin, bringing their arts programming to outdoor community spaces.
May 2020
Painting Pandas offered its inaugural virtual art lessons and shipped art kits to over 200 students nationwide across grades K-6, with the remote classes spanning 8 weeks.
Spring 2023
Painting Pandas launched a pilot program at NKO Chicago Charter School, offering art lessons, support, and supplies to over 350 students in kindergarten through 5th grade.
April 2022
After virtually working with more than 1,500 students, Painting Pandas welcomed Abby Mechling, an experienced museum educator and certified art teacher, as its inaugural Executive Director, bolstering the organization's leadership.
March 2023
Starting in September 2024, Painting Pandas will collaborate with Austin Public Libraries to provide complimentary art and literature workshops for families across various communities within the Austin Metro area.
“Painting Pandas does a great job inspiring the young artist to be creative with multiple art mediums. Our daughter loves Painting Pandas!”
—Parent of Student
“Painting Pandas is truly an amazing blessing to my family! Having 6 children you try to get them involved in as much as you can to keep them busy. All my kids LOVE art and to be able to be a part of the classes and the look on their faces when they get their boxes is truly heartwarming! They are already on my back to sign up for the next sessions.”
—Parent of Student
Why “Painting Pandas?”
The story behind our name is as colorful as our project itself.
As a young girl growing up in Chicago, Founder Jill Turner loved to draw, craft, and hook rugs. She also loved panda bears and their playful personalities. When she could not find a hook rug of a panda bear, she took things into her own hands…literally and figuratively. She found yarn and leftover burlap, drew a panda bear on it in black magic marker, and started to hook away. She still has that hook rug today.
Given her love of pandas and how they inspired her own love of art making, she thought it was only appropriate that “Painting Pandas” would be the name of the non-profit she would create to give quality art education and supplies to young people.
Where We Do It
You could say we are “Deep in the Art of Texas,” as we call Austin, Texas, home. We serve children in zip codes across the country. You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook; and hopefully in the hearts and minds of many young artists.