A moment of reconnection

June 1st, 2023

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Amidst the rescheduling and marketing for my final workshop, something small but hopeful happened. As I flyered around town, I realised something important: the interest in this topic extended well beyond the walls of the community organisation. There were people in other spaces — artists, local residents, passers-by — who were just as engaged with the questions of urban decay and regeneration. The community organisation was not the only place where this conversation mattered.

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That Thursday, I visited an arts organisation. I went not with the intention of replacing my community partner, but to explore new avenues for connection. I had already encountered other creative spaces doing inspiring work, and this visit reinforced what I was beginning to sense: my project didn’t have to remain confined to a single setting.

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A conversation with one of the artists rekindled something in me. From that moment, a new idea began to take shape: what if I diversified my engagement methods to reach more people?

Could a combination of a website, an Instagram platform, interviews and workshops create broader participation? I believed it could. Rather than relying on one partner or one space, I could offer multiple entry points into the discussion — giving people different ways to join in, depending on what resonated with them.

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Of course, broadening my approach also raised questions. Would working across several spaces and platforms make my engagement more dispersed? Could diversifying methods create a wider conversation but at the cost of intimacy? Rather than trying to resolve these doubts once and for all, I began to see them as part of an ongoing dialogue — both with myself and with those I was working alongside. What does “depth” mean in the context of community-led regeneration? Is it found in sustained engagement with one group, or in the layering of insights across many? These questions have continued to travel with me, shaping not only how I work but how I think about what research can and should be.

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In the end, this small shift — prompted by flyering, an arts visit, and an unexpected conversation — reframed my research. It reminded me that methodology is not static. It evolves through practice, through dialogue, and through the constant negotiation between breadth and depth, focus and openness.