Abstract

I would be interested to explore with others what it might mean to open “spaces of emptiness” in the community economy, and how this relates to processes of innovation. My colleagues and I are engaged with a set of practical projects, working with communities which wish to “take a lead” in addressing local housing need - but we are interested in all areas of community economies.

I have been struck by this quote from Gibson-Graham:

"Unlike the proliferative fullness of the diverse economy, the community economy is an emptiness—as it has to be, if the project of building it is to be political, experimental, open, and democratic. A community economy is an ethical and political space of decision, not a geographic or social commonality, and community is its outcome rather than a ground."

Following the critique of hylomorphism by, for example, Ingold and Deleuze & Guattari, we are seeking to open spaces where the process and outcome is not predetermined in advance – rather the aim is to become attentive to how the flows of consciousness, materials and other forces combine together in a kind of confluence, and what this might suggest for future work together.