[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.58,0:00:17.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Before I begin I'd like to acknowledge \Nthat we are gathered here
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.51,0:00:22.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the unceded territories of the Squamish, \NTsleil-Watuth and Musqueam people.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.27,0:00:24.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I do this with the utmost \Nrespect and gratitude,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.84,0:00:31.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially as I'm here to talk about \Ncommunity and the politics of space.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.28,0:00:34.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I spend a lot of time thinking about \Nthe role that physical spaces play
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.90,0:00:37.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in building and sustaining social movements,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.81,0:00:39.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I've become convinced over time
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.62,0:00:43.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the way that we create and hold space \Nfor each other profoundly shapes our sense
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.87,0:00:48.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of who we are, what we value, and what \Nwe are capable of together.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.70,0:00:52.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Six years ago my partner Vinetta \Nand I created Rhizome
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.83,0:00:55.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the Mount Pleasant \Nneighborhood of Vancouver.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.30,0:01:01.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rhizome is a place where people come every day\Nto drink coffee eat sandwiches and curry and soup;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.38,0:01:05.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but that's only part of the story \Nand I want to tell you the other part;
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.32,0:01:10.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but in order to do that I need to tell you first \Na little bit about where I come from.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.43,0:01:13.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 2004, I moved here from San Francisco
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.52,0:01:16.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where I had worked for a decade \Nas a migrant rights organizer.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.98,0:01:23.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I left behind a vibrant community of struggle\Nand a city that's good at telling its own story.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.07,0:01:25.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Doing that work in San Francisco, \NI was always reminded
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.85,0:01:29.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I was part of something \Nbigger than myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.63,0:01:33.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think that that sense of belonging had a lot \Nto do with the kind of work that I was doing,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.91,0:01:37.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it was also definitely fed by my surroundings.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.07,0:01:39.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every day I would walk to work past murals
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.49,0:01:43.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that silently told me that nothing is \Never won without a struggle,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.49,0:01:46.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that collective liberation is possible.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.85,0:01:48.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The amazing thing about these murals is that
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.64,0:01:51.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thousands of other people walked \Nby them every day as well,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.75,0:01:55.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we all received that same education.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.14,0:01:58.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those murals tell stories of indigenous resistance,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.22,0:02:01.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of migrant rights organizing\Nand of revolutionary struggles
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.97,0:02:04.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for racial and economic justice.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.12,0:02:08.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They taught us that we are all \Nproducts of a shared history.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.48,0:02:14.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So with these murals as my guide I felt \Na deep sense of connection and possibility,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.23,0:02:16.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I don't think that I fully appreciated
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.29,0:02:19.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the power of this very public and \Nvery shared political education
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.98,0:02:25.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until after I left that city and moved \Nto a place where I had no roots.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.73,0:02:29.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I came to Vancouver \NI felt a deep sense of loss.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.88,0:02:35.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The forces of erasure here \Nfelt so powerful and so violent.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.28,0:02:38.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The more I talked to people here \Nthe more I came to understand
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.45,0:02:41.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how this history and the constant \Nrebuilding of this city
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.86,0:02:45.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,make it very difficult for us \Nto connect with each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.35,0:02:49.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wondered how many stories \Nhad been erased here.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.62,0:02:53.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My partner and I had always had \Na dream of being able to create a space
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.48,0:02:56.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would welcome people \Nfrom diverse backgrounds;
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.32,0:03:00.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where people would be able \Nto be truly seen and recognized;
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.11,0:03:04.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and where we would be able \Nto help us connect with each other.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.72,0:03:06.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We wanted to create \Na living room for all of us,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.87,0:03:10.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and especially for those who \Nhad been pushed out of other spaces,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.12,0:03:12.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and made to feel invisible.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.87,0:03:17.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We wanted to use space to show that \Nour communities face similar challenges,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.02,0:03:20.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that we can envision solutions together.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.64,0:03:24.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when we first walked into the space \Nthat would eventually become Rhizome,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.36,0:03:26.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we knew that we were \Nin the right place.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.72,0:03:30.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our new landlord showed us around \Nand he showed us the place on the floor
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.95,0:03:34.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where he had laid the floorboards \None summer back in the 1950's
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.54,0:03:38.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a teenager during his \Nsummer break from high school.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.29,0:03:41.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He pointed out the \N100 year old tin ceiling,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.11,0:03:43.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he told us fantastic stories
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.54,0:03:45.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of things that may or may not \Nhave happened
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.59,0:03:47.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in that very room over the years.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.99,0:03:52.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For us, all of those stories \Nwere seeds of possibility.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.21,0:03:55.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As soon as we opened in 2006, \Npeople started coming
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.87,0:03:58.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from all walks of life \Nand from diverse communities,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.93,0:04:02.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it turned out that our personal \Nneed to create a shared living room
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.42,0:04:05.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was a need that many other\Npeople felt as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.50,0:04:08.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And since then we've hosted \Nover 1,000 events
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.16,0:04:12.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in collaboration with \Nhundreds of community groups.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.33,0:04:15.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many different communities \Nreally do now consider this space their home
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.94,0:04:18.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and have brought pieces \Nof themselves to it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.37,0:04:23.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example every year we host a traditional \Nlatin-american Day of the Dead celebration,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.20,0:04:25.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and every year I watch \Nas people meet each other
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.92,0:04:29.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while placing photos \Nof their ancestors on the altar.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.36,0:04:32.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over the years in this space \Nwe've done all of the things
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.29,0:04:34.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that build community.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.08,0:04:38.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We've been able to share our stories, \Nwe've learned about critical issues together
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.23,0:04:40.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through panel discussions \Nand film screenings,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.75,0:04:43.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we've argued and debated \Nand planned together,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.86,0:04:47.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we've celebrated our victories, \Nand we've done all this in a space
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.78,0:04:53.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's intentionally multi-generational, \Nmulti-lingual and multi-racial.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.36,0:04:56.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Recently we've started hosting \Ncourses on community organizing
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.84,0:05:00.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to help grassroots groups \Nbecome more focused and strategic.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.45,0:05:04.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We've created space for all of us \Nto be able to imagine a better future,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.00,0:05:08.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and now to strategize \Naround how to get there.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.33,0:05:11.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over time this really has \Nbecome a shared project
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.69,0:05:16.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's way bigger than anything that \NVinetta or I could ever have imagined.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.23,0:05:19.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's fully supported \Nby the people who use it.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.35,0:05:24.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We've been able to experiment with \Ndifferent economic models on a small scale.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.16,0:05:26.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We created systems so that \Neveryone can eat here
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.61,0:05:28.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,regardless of how much \Nmoney they have,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.89,0:05:32.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so that hundreds of people \Ncan contribute what they have,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.05,0:05:36.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be able to help maintain this \Nas a shared resource.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.39,0:05:39.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most importantly Rhizome has allowed \Nfor connections between different groups
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.84,0:05:44.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that rarely come into meaningful contact\Nelsewhere in this city.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.14,0:05:47.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What we do at Rhizome \Nis explicitly anti-profit,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.33,0:05:51.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's about re-claiming cooperative values \Nin a commodified culture.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.83,0:05:53.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Continuing to hold this space
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.49,0:05:56.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has started to feel absolutely vital.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.30,0:05:57.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every day we're reminded that the world
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.92,0:06:00.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,around us is driven by market values,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.44,0:06:02.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that what we do at Rhizome
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.05,0:06:04.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is fundamentally different.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.03,0:06:06.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We've come to see that our work is part
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.42,0:06:11.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a broader struggle to define the \Nvery soul of this ever-changing city.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.85,0:06:14.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this struggle only \Npoints out to me again
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.52,0:06:19.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what all of those murals in San Francisco \Nwere telling me all along:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.32,0:06:23.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it takes a community working together to\Ncreate something that's worth fighting for,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.52,0:06:28.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then it takes a shared commitment \Nto hold on to that thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.30,0:06:31.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we have our own mural \Nnow on the wall,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.31,0:06:34.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it reminds us every day \Nof what brings us together.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.81,0:06:38.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It reminds us that space like ours \Ncan create cracks in the system,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.64,0:06:43.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that those cracks can give us all \Na transformative sense of possibility.