Abundant Futures: What does it mean to be local? – Gathering

ArtHouse Jersey is inviting Islanders to join two free events exploring home, belonging, participation, and the many different ways people contribute to life in Jersey.

Taking place at the Salvation Army Community Café on Saturday 26 September and the Old Magistrate’s Court at St Helier Town Hall on Monday 28 September, the events will share new research asking a deceptively simple question: What does it mean to be local?

The independent research, undertaken by researcher Dr Mariana Pinto Leitão Pereira as part of ArtHouse Jersey’s long-term socially engaged project Abundant Futures led by artist Dana Olărescu, draws on conversations with 25 people with different relationships to Jersey.

People born in Jersey, long-term residents, and more recent arrivals to the Island were invited to talk about their experiences of home, belonging, work, community, knowledge, contribution, and the Island’s future.

Rather than seeking to represent every experience of living in Jersey, the research brings together 25 individual perspectives to explore some of the different ways people experience home, belonging, and participation. Together, they offer a rich collection of perspectives on what it means to feel part of a place. What emerges is that there is no single answer to what it means to be local.

The research explores the ways people build a connection to Jersey over time, the experiences and knowledge they carry with them, and the conditions that can make it easier or more challenging to participate in Island life.

It asks us to think about questions such as:

• What makes somewhere feel like home?
• When do we feel that we belong?
• Whose knowledge and experiences are valued?
• What makes it possible for people to take part in community life?
• What does it mean to contribute to the future of Jersey?

Rather than offering a single definition of what it means to be local, the research opens up a conversation about the many different ways people belong to Jersey, and whose stories become part of the story of the Island.

This is an informal public gathering open to everyone. Come and hear about the research, discover some of the stories and experiences gathered through the project, and share your own thoughts and experiences of what it means to feel at home and belong in Jersey.