Creative Community Hive:

An expressive arts platform for communities to connect, share, unwind and recharge.  

By Jennifer Jalal 

Group photo of a Creative Community Hive Program

As Founder-Executive Director, I am happy to share the story of Creative Community Hive, how it came to be and the journey thus far! What started off as an informal community-based group in 2017, with a crafter friend and few other volunteers, now operates as a registered not-for-profit, promoting programs for mental, emotional, and physical well-being through an integrated ‘creative care’ approach for communities in Halton Region.  

The genesis of our initiative can be traced back to an arts ‘movement’ of sorts, which was spearheaded by Janis Tim-Bottos, a dedicated community orientated Art Therapist/academic and her team of practitioners at Concordia University, Montreal in 2011.This innovative ‘Third Space’, (Oldenberg1989)  called Art Hive has now spread far and wide within Canada and overseas!  There are variations in the ways in which each Art Hive operates. While our format is inspired by therapeutic, non-instructional art -making, we have adopted a hybrid model to suit the interests of our local community. Based on keen observation over the years we realized that when things are kept too open-ended, people sometimes get intimidated or overwhelmed and don’t quite know where to begin their art project. Many are used to being told what to do, and in the absence of instructions, they feel lost! We addressed this issue by selectively focusing on few materials at a time, for instance on a particular day putting out only fabric and yarn to work with, or on other days using paper and supplies for junk journaling or print making. Additionally, unlike formal art studios, we encourage people to also bring their own art or craft projects, which perhaps needs just that extra bit of motivation to get going.  

Over time the initial hesitance gives way to feeling of ease and sets the ‘tone’ and the expectations of folks attending our sessions. We have had participants who looked anxious and nervous at first, gradually enjoy and even turn to it at times of stress and crisis in their lives. One participant shared how during her recovery in hospital, sketching and coloring made her feel less anxious. This is a person who had not picked up a brush or paint in years before attending our sessions, and now it seems to help heal and provide a purpose in her daily routine. 

I recall another incident, a year or two ago, when my welcome greeting of ‘good morning’ at the door was not met by the usual question: “What are we making today?”. Instead, folks, mostly senior women (occasionally joined by one or two creative men!)  hung their jackets, got the kettle going, pulled out art materials and started working, chatting, and sharing ideas. I was pleasantly surprised but also felt a certain sense of relief to know that we had finally ‘arrived’ at what our platform was meant to be: a safe, cozy and free creative space, for folks to connect, unwind and recharge! 

We perceive expressive arts as a creative tool to break down barriers of access and isolation and accommodate folks with varying abilities and those facing different life challenges. Guided by the Asset Based Community Development model, we appreciate and value all the ‘gifts’ (talent and skills) that each participant brings with them and actively encourage them to share it with others. Our open studio sessions are mostly facilitated by community members, some of whom have had formal training and others who are self-taught , aspiring artists, crafters, chefs, musicians, writers and dancers. Over the years we have often had folks who initially joined as a participant and gradually felt confident to assist as a volunteer and eventually took up the responsibility of hosting a complete session as a facilitator!   

I am happy to report that over the last four years, ever since we registered as a Not-for-Profit, we have been successful in receiving grants from the City of Burlington, Halton Region and Province of Ontario. This has enabled us to host activities at multiple locations, expand our program content and invite professionals to facilitate thematic workshops. 

Looking ahead, we are focusing more on programs which offer cognitive stimulation in a fun and relaxed setting. There is a huge body of growing research on neuro esthetics which points towards a strong connection between the way our brain responds to art-based activities, especially neuro-diverse artmaking accompanied by music and rhythm. Our future work plan includes more such activities which support better mental health and emotional wellbeing of our ageing community members. 

To make our next steps successful, our ideal wish list includes finding a dedicated space to ‘anchor’ our Hive! We feel our community members will benefit more from our consistent presence vs a pop-up model. We would also love to have more committed volunteers who can invest their time and skills to support our free programs. We are also trying to address challenges such as making our programs more accessible to those who do not have access to personal vehicle; increase program visibility by putting a proper communications strategy in place and last but not the least, explore long-term revenue generating sources to help sustain our programs.  

Regular program evaluation allows us to adapt and respond to the feedback we receive from our participants. We are also grateful for the support we have received from the City of Burlington, our other community partners and networks such as CDH. Without them we would not have been able to fulfill even half of the goals we had set out to achieve!  I feel optimistic about our path ahead and the possibilities we can continue to create together. 

Story curated by Phillip McAllister 

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This post is part of a larger CDH Member Story Project. The intent is to share the depth of our non-profit sector, name how community can support and imagine together what is possible through the non-profit sector to ensure Halton is a health, inclusive and resilient place to live. 

Are you a CDH member and want to let your story to the project. You can get started HERE.