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Title of Grant <br />Request <br />Community Art Hive: An Art Making Collaborative <br />Grant Amount <br />Requested <br />$2000 <br />Project Start Date <br />(no earlier than July <br />1, 2023) <br />October 5, 2023 <br />Project End Date (no <br />later than June 30, <br />2024) <br />May 31, 2024 <br />Project/Program <br />Summary <br />This past February, I attended an online conference (The W orld Art <br />Therapy Conference) where I learned about Art Hives and since then, I’ve <br />been exploring ways to create a pop up Art Hive in Orange County. <br />An Art Hive is a public space that “welcomes everyone as an artist and <br />believes art making is a human behavior.” (Janis Timm-Botts) W hile people <br />have been coming together as communities to create art for centuries, art <br />making collectives using the name “Art Hive” started in the southwest <br />United States in the early 2000s. Art Hives later appeared in areas in the <br />northern and eastern United States as well as Canada. There are now over <br />100 art hives worldwide. <br />W hile Art Hives are often focused on serving under-resourced and <br />marginalized communities, the goal is solidarity as opposed to charity. “The <br />Art Hive is about fostering appreciation of interdependence and contributing <br />the skills we all bring with each other. It is much more than a place to make <br />art in the company of others. It is a place that breaks socio-economic and <br />cultural barriers.” <br />W ith these concepts in mind, I approached the Inter-Faith Council (IFC) <br />located in Carrboro, NC and asked them to partner with me by offering a <br />space to a host monthly pop-up Art Hive starting in the fall of 2023. The IFC <br />serves people in our community experiencing poverty and homelessness. <br />Their mission, vision and values align well with the goals of an Art Hive <br />including building community through respect and collaboration. <br />“Communities are built of people who feel they are part of something bigger <br />than themselves.” (Suzanne Goldsmith) <br />W hile many Art Hives are facilitated by art therapists like myself, an Art <br />Hive is not an art therapy group. It does not have the uneven power <br />dynamics of a traditional art therapy group which is led by a therapist who <br />is in the perceived position of power. Instead, in the Art Hive, the art <br />therapist simply facilitates the gathering by providing art supplies and <br />securing a safe, welcoming and inclusive space. All participants in the Art <br />Hive are encouraged to teach and learn from each other. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 690D1B77-F56D-4419-B19D-FBD2E1CFD4C1