An Art Hive:

• welcomes everyone as an artist and believes art-making is a human behaviour.  

• celebrates the strengths and creative capacities of individuals and communities.  

• fosters self-directed experiences of creativity, learning, and skill sharing.   

• encourages emerging grassroots leaders of all ages.  

• provides free access as promoted by the gift economy.  

• shares resources including the abundant materials available for creative reuse.  

• experiments with ideas through humble inquiry and arts-based research.  

• exchanges knowledge about funding strategies and economic development.  

• partners with colleges and universities to promote engaged scholarship.  

• gardens wherever possible to renew, regenerate, and spread seeds of social change. 

The model and practice of these community art studios are based on over two decades of research by Dr. Janis Timm-Bottos, Concordia University, Montreal, QC. Learn more about Art Hives here.

Do Art Hives sound familiar? You may have heard Dara Armsden, Head of Education and Learning at the AGA, having a conversation about them with Art Therapist Olga Perju. Olga is also the Clinical Director at St. Stephen’s College, where she teaches and supervises art therapy students. You can listen to their conversation here.