Paint it Forward

HeartWorks gives back to an LGBTQ health center that saved one artist's life.

by Mary Wilson

Run, Run, Run, Alex Da Corte, 2008, archival digital print (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Christopher Veit is not what most people would call a rich man. Although he's started two clothing labels and lived in London, New York and San Francisco, the 41-year-old fabric artist has never owned his own home, never had a "steady job," and doesn't have much in the way of money. But it's not as if he hasn't been busy.

Currently, Veit is working "pretty much full-time," as he concludes a year-and-a-half-long project to organize a contemporary art exhibition/auction to benefit the Mazzoni Center, a small health clinic at 12th and Chestnut that serves Philadelphia's LGBTQ community. With more than 88 artists contributing approximately 100 works of art, HeartWorks is expected by its organizers to raise more than $130,000 and is generating a considerable buzz for the local artists involved. It's also a lot of work for Veit, and he's n