As a child, Kristen Hutchinson was surrounded by artists and art-making: her father ran a photography school, and she spent every summer painting, drawing and making ceramics at an art camp. As the principal of kh1 Art Consulting, it might seem inevitable that she ended up in an artistic field, but that’s not how it happened.
Skipping art classes in high school and university, she ended up with a double major in history and political science and a minor in women’s studies from McGill University.
“I was actually thinking about doing an MA in history, and then I decided not to. I was painting bought pots and selling them at festival in Vancouver and I thought, ‘Oh I really like doing this, I think I should go to art school.’”
Her instincts were correct, and she thrived as student at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, studying sculpture, photography and video. It was at Emily Carr that she delved into art history, a passion that eventually carried her through to a PhD.
