CU Art Hive - SGW campus

The Concordia University Art Hive (Downtown Campus), welcomes the Concordia community and the general public for free and open art making. No experience required. Join us for self-care, skill-sharing and community building!

Facilitators

The Concordia Art Hives are facilitated by Creative Arts Therapists and students, as well as volunteers.

What to expect

A welcoming space where creative self expression takes center stage. Participants can drop in at any time during our openning hours. All materials are provided and must be used withing the space; no registration and no prior art making experience is needed. Everyone is asked to care for one self and the sapace, cleaning the brushes, palettes, coffee mugs, plates, after being used; as well as taking their art work home, as we have limited storage space and there are several groups sharing the space. Coffee, tea, and ocassional snacks are provided.

Self-directed art exploration

Through art making and spontaneous discussions, participants have the opportunity to explore their artistic identities, narratives and personal agency in a creative and collaborative manner.

Art materials

We have a variety of art materials, from paints, pastels, color pencils, to fabrics, yarn, beads, magazines, natural and recycled materials, just to name a few. You are also welcomed to bring your own materials or ongoing projects, with the only exception of oil or spray paints. Whatever you create in the space is yours to keep.

Our abundance of art supplies is provided graciously by the Concordia University Creative Reuse Centre (CUCCR). Check them out!

Community

An Art Hive, also known as a "Third Space", is a place between home and work or school, where participants of all ages, abilities, walks of lives, etnicities, and genders come together to inhabit the space as community artists and neighbours.

Safety and inclusivity

This group is dedicated to foster a creative, accessible, and welcoming space where participants can explore their crativity, share experiences, concerns and successes free from judgment. Sharing and discussion is always optional depending on your comfort level.

What is an Art Hive?

An Art Hive is a community art studio that welcomes everyone as an artist, at its heart, an Art Hive is about inclusion, respect, learning, responding in creative ways to things that matter.

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 Art Hives have evolved through two decades of sustained practise research, continuous observation and adaptation, and experimentation with spaces and organizational structures led by Janis Timm-Bottos, a Concordia University Professor in Fine Arts.

Find more about the history of art hives