With the holidays fast approaching, many people are struggling to find the perfect Christmas gift. The answer is Routes to Community, Roots of Community, the 2001 calendar of artwork created by the Creative Works Studio at St. Michael's Hospital. Members of the Creative Works Studio, a unique community art and economic development initiative of the Inner City Health Program at St. Michael's Hospital, are artists who use their talents as a tool for healing.
Members also learn new skills and generate income based on the sale of their artwork.
Along with the benefits it provides to the artist members, the program helps in developing a caring community, fostering economic development projects and generating public awareness of inner city and mental health issues. This year's theme, Routes to Community, Roots of Community is a journey into discovering our roots. Working together in a studio and then sharing this artwork with the public strengthens members' ties to the community. This is what we hoped to achieve with this year's calendar. Donated by the Sisters of St. Joseph, who founded St. Michael's Hospital in 1892, the new space has a working studio area, gallery and kitchen.