Published in The Philanthropist,
by Stephen Huddart, CEO of the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation
April 17, 2017
"Another idea emanating from Montreal is Art Hives: free access community art studios. However, that term hardly begins to describe what they do. In less than four years, Art Hives have sprung up in more than 100 places around the world. At the original location in Montreal’s St. Henri neighbourhood, I’ve met an 80-year old woman living on social assistance and exhibiting her paintings for the first time in her life; joined a Mohawk singer conducting a 30-person chorus in the adjoining community garden; and watched a recently-immigrated Egyptian woman perform a “thank you” dance to the place and the people who helped her create a costume out of recycled materials that enabled her to relaunch her career as a belly dancer."