We’re pleased to see Granville Community Kitchen and Farm included in this reflection on community-led change and collective futures.
My hope has been wavering.
Perhaps this is an odd way to begin this offering. My work, after all, is rooted in hope and imagination. I spend much of my time inviting people to think beyond the limits of what exists; to imagine neighbourhoods and communities differently; to believe that culture can change the material conditions of a place; to make the case that buildings, land, archives, gardens, infrastructures, spaces of connection and hospitality can become the foundations of more just futures…
People often assume that if you spend your life in the practice of creating possibility, hope must come naturally. It doesn’t.
There are days when the sheer accumulation of events feels overwhelming. Another genocide. Another fuel “shortage” induced energy price hike. Another news story about a child mental health epidemic. Another council declares effective bankruptcy. Another youth service disappears. Another library closes. Another community asset is sold to the highest bidder. Another fascist march taking over our public realm. Another planning decision appears to privilege extraction over belonging. Another teenager stabbed in the afternoon. Another family is quietly evicted out of the neighbourhood they’ve lived in for generations. Another heatwave. Another flood reminds us that the climate crisis isn’t on the way, but already rearranging the conditions of everyday life.
…
