Paint the World® began as an experiment. Bethany Halbreich and a few friends wanted to co-create something, so they purchased a few blank canvases and art supplies, and started painting. They found the experience therapeutic and began to think about what a difference this simple activity could make if widely spread.

Then, Bethany decided to experiment with the idea further so she secured large blank canvases and art supplies in a community she was visiting at the time. Her aim was to spark spontaneous creativity and bring people together around a collaborative art experience. The set-ups were always left on their own, without supervision, allowing freedom and space for anything to happen. People flocked to the canvases; those who had never painted before and those who were compelled in the moment to feel their creativity take over the direction of the paintbrush. Observing this experience manifest and watching the creativity it inspired made Bethany think of all the possibilities that could evolve. She thought: What if we scaled this? What if a blank canvas appeared in communities that have limited access to art supplies & art education?