The Here and Elsewhere Bee compiles 1,197 immigration stories. The project is a collaborative quilt, inspired by the children’s storybook Selina and the Bear Paw Quilt by American-born writer Barbara Smucker. Each of the blocks was completed by a visitor to the Canadian Museum of Immigration, representing a bit of each visitor’s immigration narrative. The blocks are grouped by thematic “trees” — family, love, freedom and diversity, cultural references, hopes and dreams, nature, agriculture and work, and oceanic journeys. The quilt’s overall organization illustrates how, although each of our stories are unique, there are strong threads that tie them together.

The North End is a multicultural community. This artwork brings together diverse stories and underscores the common humanity that we share.