Mission
ArtSpring, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3), public charity whose mission is to support self-growth and effective life skills through art-making for underserved and institutionalized women and girls. Since 1994, ArtSpring has served the needs of women and girls representing a diverse ethnic, age and racial demographic through its two principal programs: Inside Out and Breaking Free. These interdisciplinary arts programs incorporate movement, theatre games, writing, drawing, music, story telling, meditation, guided imagery and performance as transformational tools for self-reflection and personal change.

History
Leslie Neal, Choreographer and Associate Professor of Dance at Florida International University (FIU), founded ArtSpring, Inc., formally known as Leslie Neal Dance, Inc. (LND), in 1992. In 1994, the organization’s focus began to increasingly shift to community arts intervention programs that utilize a combination of art forms in a thematically designed arts curriculum. As a reflection of this change in program emphasis, LND changed its corporate name to ArtSpring, Inc. in the summer of 2000 to more accurately reflect its community-based focus.