Living Labs

We define Living Labs as spaces to set containers that are rooted in community practice. They are spaces of co-creating in real-life environments where we address complex challenges. We use art as a catalyst for system change because art allows us to access complexity through practice.

The Tiny Lights Festival

Tiny Lights, now in its 13th year, by design, is committed to building spaces for reflection, deep listening, connection and belonging. We created a participatory container where folks can lean into and practice being in the inclusive future we want to live in. Learning requires vulnerability, and vulnerability requires safety. We honour the important role that the arts play in pushing boundaries and aiding society to address uncomfortable spaces of diversity, reconciliations and identity.

The Studio- Pilot

The Studio is our collaborative space located in Ymir BC , population 245. This space sits at the intersection of Social Innovation Lab space and community arts studio. It is used as a facilitation space for lab practice that is animated and inhabited by artists. There are four artists in residence. Community arts practice unlocks creativity and can help folks use their hands to activate their immaginations.

The Future

We are building a permanent home. In 2023 we purchased a beautiful historic piece of land in Ymir. We intend to co-create a space that expands on the ideas tested in the living labs. We have learned that creating containers for interactions and learning that allow people to build the capacity to hold paradox and nuance is the thread that ties our projects together.

Centring the stories of this land, sustainability and the arts, we will listen as we move forward.