Connecting Communities Through
Arts, Dialogue & Transformation
Last Chance To
Become A Member of
The Golden Honey
Donors Club!
May 1 - July 31 Only
Take Advantage of 3 Special Incentives For Our Final Days
And scroll down to see all the things we've accomplished in less than 3 months, with your help!
Level 1: Any Amount! Be A Member Of The Golden Honey Donor Club ALL donors of ANY AMOUNT will be honored on our website by name in perpetuity (forever!) as Golden Honey Donors - a special group of those who supported us from the very beginning!
Level 2: $250 or More! Be A Super Pollinator Member Of The Golden Honey Donor Club. For every $250 you donate, receive an invitation for 1 person to come to The HIVE HQ for a toast and private concert by Frederic as a thank you! Already donated and want to level-up? All donations you made to The Golden Honey Donor campaign will be added together to qualify. Level up for your previous donation to qualify!
Level 3: $5,000+ Be a Queen Bee Of Your own Private Party! Donate $5,000 and Frederic and Jeanine will come to you and turn your private dinner party into a HIVE Event! Included is a mini-concert by Frederic followed by a HIVE Conversation on a theme of your choice among your guests during dinner! (Max guests 18, food & piano not included!)
Thank You,
Golden Honey
Donors!
If You Believe What We Believe,
Consider Supporting The Hive!
"Community" is almost always defined as a group of people with common ideas, common characteristics, common goals or living in a common location. But in recent times, this has created a society made up of closed circles and hunkering down.
The HIVE believes there is a broader community that is defined simply by being human and that the time to reveal and activate it is now...
Make Your Tax-deductible gift today by filling out the form below.
The HIVE operates under Beechwood Arts and Innovation, a 501(c)3 non-profit.
All donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
Donation Form
A letter to our supporters as we launch...
At The HIVE, we believe that a broader sense of community, defined by being human, can be revealed within and across communities. We believe this can happen by creating opportunities to engage, fueled by the arts, dialogue & collaborative ideas. These opportunities allow people to discover connections around being human, build understanding, foster a spirit of belonging and transform perspectives. We believe that the world needs more of this, and we believe the time for this is now.
The Launch of The HIVE! The unique combination of excitement, care, angst and conviction that comes with starting a new venture, especially one dedicated to community and that forges new ground, reminds us of the first days of starting Beechwood Arts in 2011, when we set out to reimagine the arts experience. Our ideas then brought many enthusiastic early supporters willing to take the journey to forge new ground. Looking back on the legacy of 12 yrs of 100+ collaborative, immersive events and the incredible and improbable connections that were made, its clear that the encouragement and kick-start support of those early adventurers who believed what we believed gave us the start and the energy to build it.
Today, with The HIVE, we stand once again at a newly opened door, with an even more expansive mission that continues to build on that legacy of community and connection, brought across all communities. The tools we are bringing to The HIVE are ones that we know work to build connection, understanding, empathy, collaboration & ideas between people. We have seen this work:
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Through our 12 years of building and running Beechwood Arts
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Through our 25+ years of innovation and transformation work with corporations and community organizations
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Through our teaching of university students who come from communities and countries around the world to connect & collaborate.
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Through our lifetime individual work as visual and performing artists
What Your Support Allows Us To Do:
We have been “busy bees” here at The HIVE and have hit the ground running to bring The HIVE to life – but there is much more work to do! Your support will help us finish laying the groundwork and be fully open as the active, cross-pollinating organization we envision. Below is the work we’ve done since March and what is needed to complete a successful launch.
The HIVE Identity & Website:
We took time and careful thought to establish The HIVE Logo, Values, Vision & Mission. We did many iterations of our site to get the right balance that communicated the ethos of our organization as well as our activities and an on-line gallery, while also keeping it simple. Check it out! www.thehivebybeechwood.org
Our First Media Appearance!
Executive Director of CAFC, Erika Wesley, invited us in May to her podcast at WPKN to discuss the launch of The HIVE. It was an exciting discussion that reinforced what we are doing and made clear the possibilities and the impact The HIVE will have. LISTEN HERE
May-July, Quick Start To Building Partnerships:
Creating Partnerships with other Community-driven organizations is core to everything The HIVE will do. To achieve our mission and create a “human pollinator pathway” across communities, we must do our work equitably and with consideration; partnering with a wide range of community-driven organizations across communities is key.
Outreach to these partners is essential for us to understand their needs and goals for them and their communities so we can bring value through joint programs. Throughout May and June, we invited Executive Directors of Community-Driven organizations to a series of HIVE Conversations. Over 30 EDs signed up in our initial round, with more asking to attend, from Arts Organizations to Community Services, Libraries and beyond. These Pollinator Gatherings received a very enthusiastic response from ED’s and gave them an opportunity to experience one of The HIVE’s cornerstone offerings for themselves. We plan on hosting more ED events through July and to build a strong cohort of partners across communities.
The HIVE’s First 2 Pollinator Gatherings For The Public!
In June we held 2 Pollinator Gatherings with our amazing collaborative partner, The Westport Library and Verso Studios!
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June 9, Pollinator Gathering #1: Artist Storyshare at the Westport Library. The theme “Unexpected Human Pollination” was defined as “collaborating with a person or group that was unexpected and possibly unwelcome, but resulted in a surprising and positive impact in the end.”
Sixteen Artists showed their work and 6 bravely told personal and inspiring stories from the stage, followed by a facilitated conversation with the audience who shared their own thoughts on the theme and their own experiences with “Unexpected Human Pollination,” creating more connection for all.
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June 23, Pollinator Gathering #2: The LID Sessions by Frederic Chiu Studio at the Westport Library. This event brought 7 non-professional pianists aged 12-94 to the stage to share their personal “Passion Practice,” playing Piano, with an enthusiastic and supportive audience. Performers and audience alike engaged in a lively conversation on the impact of having a “Passion Practice” and how sharing it brings together community in a powerful way. Audience members shared that watching these pianists take the stage made them feel grateful, inspired, impressed and overwhelmed by their bravery. The pianists themselves spoke of being nervous and worried about making mistakes upon taking the stage, but the energy and encouragement of the large crowd made them feel acknowledged and supported and more able to focus on making music – and all were glad for having done it.
Continuing this momentum of outreach and programs depends on generous support from people like you to allow us to reach across all communities and community-driven organizations.
If you believe that there is a broader community defined simply by being human that can be revealed by creating a spirit of community through the arts, dialogue, collaboration & ideas - and that this is the right time to do it, please join us to make it real with your support and confidence by becoming a member of the Golden Honey Donors Club!!
Sponsors!
Interested in Sponsoring a Pollinator Gathering or Cross Pollination Swarm for individuals or organizations across communities? Please Call us at 203-226-9462 or email contact@thehivebybeechwood.org to find out more!
BEE A VOLUNTEER!!
As with all beehives, it takes a lot of teamwork to
create and run The HIVE's community-centered programs, and we can only do it with your help!
The HIVE needs volunteers of all kinds, and we promise we'll have fun together doing the work! Please sign up and let us know how you'd like to be involved.