Kim Senn is an artist, business owner, and community advocate committed to helping end homelessness. She studied journalism and started her professional career in advertising. To create balance in her life, Kim recalls taking life drawing classes and focusing her energy on drawing, painting, and jewelry projects. Art continues to be her creative outlet and an essential element of her professional endeavors.
For the last ten years, Kim has channeled her strengths in design and branding into her successful business Senn & Sons. Working in her collaborative creative studio, she offers surface pattern and textile designs, branding and identity creation, art licensing, creative consulting, and public art. Her business has evolved according to her interests and family needs.
“I draw and illustrate with pen and paper. I transfer the designs into digital applications and assemble patterns. The images become part of the branding and identity design for companies. I also create patterns and designs for other products like calendars and planners. Everything I make has a homemade aspect to it. I like to see the artist’s hand in things.”
Over the years, Kim has donated an array of original drawings and paintings to Art 4 Shelter. This year, she offers her inspirational, “Be the Change” artwork which mirrors a mural she painted on Hennepin Avenue near the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis last summer.
“With the unrest following the murder of George Floyd, buildings were all boarded up. The Uptown Association invited artists to beautify the neighborhood with their art. I was assigned my wall and created this “Be the Change” mural. I got to talk to people in the neighborhood and get to know them. The art was so appreciated.”
Amplifying a call for community action and racial justice, Kim created a digital print of the “Be the Change” mural and sells it online and in local shops. All proceeds benefit Simpson Housing Services and Northside Achievement Zone. Kim looks forward to including her “Be the Change” digital print for the Art 4 Shelter virtual art sale.
An Art 4 Shelter enthusiast, Kim celebrates Art 4 Shelter’s continued impact on ending homelessness. Eight years ago, she was invited to Art 4 Shelter by a friend. She loved the event and wanted to get involved. The following year she started as an Art 4 Shelter volunteer, serving six years on the event planning committee—including two years as the event cochair.
“Art 4 Shelter is such a unique and important community event. People are so passionate about it and have been attending every year since its founding. Art brings people together and this event shows how it can truly change things for the better. It’s nice as an artist to see how your creative work can have a direct impact in a community. The best part is that there is always something special for everyone at Art 4 Shelter.”
Passionate about Simpson’s mission to house, support, and advocate for people experiencing homelessness, Kim offers her leadership, creativity, and collaboration to the agency’s work. She has served on Simpson’s board of directors since 2017.
“From early on in my involvement, I could tell our values are aligned. Housing is vital to a person’s success. It’s not just about putting a roof over someone’s head. It’s about finding resources, jobs, and developing relationships. Though Simpson is a big agency, it doesn’t just offer a one-size-fits-all solution for folks – the services are tailored to each person who is on their own unique path. Everyone who works there is so wonderful and so passionate about what they do, and everyone is treated with dignity, which makes it really special. It’s about humanity, which feels like the right way to do this work.”
Born and raised in Wisconsin, Kim lived in New York, London, and San Francisco. She currently resides in Edina Minnesota.
View Kim’s work at Senn & Sons.
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