For one night only, Granby Winter Garden hosted an exhibition curated by Lilly Patricija Jankaus, in support of a zine launch by Phoebe Thomas (and a host of other contributors).
It was the result of a symposium on space, property and access, led by Kindred’s Young Ideas Team in 2025. For reference, Kindred focus on that subject as their absolute base, and apply their practice-led learning to assist cultural and community groups.
Much of what Kindred do is based in evidencing sustainability, potential growth, and supporting socially trading groups. The zine, standing as evidence/evaluation for the symposium, suggests that the outcomes of that conversation were predominantly on considering the significance of other success measures.
There’s an audience quote from the symposium, highlighted in the zine: “Community spaces emerge organically; they are outcome not intent in most cases.”
I really want to avoid over simplifying this, because there are dozens of responses that form the conclusions, but the overall feel is that space needs to be more accessible (financially and physically) so that community projects maintain their organic momentum.
Because the difference in how accessible and secure space is now, to when we’ve referenced elsewhere in this paper, means that it is currently very difficult to maintain the momentum of an idea, so many urgent questions that could be answered by a community are being missed, because those groups just can’t access the space they need without knowing who, or how, to ask.
That means that organisations who focus on providing/funding it, need to be more predictive – know where the need is likely, and make sure there are mechanisms to meet it.
That Kindred have actively supported this live thought process is refreshing. It shows a willingness to listen, which is incredibly important given the weight they have to influence change in how cultural groups access space.
Between the zine and the exhibition, the lead artists and curators perfectly captured the sense of immediate access, and anticipation that the evaluation zine proposes.
The exhibition, curated by Lilly Patricija Jankaus, celebrating young artists, and applying accessible practice through the irresistible medium of collage, ensured that everyone in that big, open, leafy, room felt welcome to take part, and that they left having contributed.
The zine was printed by Phoebe Thomas, was printed at Play Play Play, a Birkenhead print studio very much in the model this zine proposes. Artist-led, taking up they space they could get, to produce the work they needed to. Their space fits their purpose. It feels like it always will, and its new, and open to all.
The zine concludes: “we want those with access to power and resources to make genuine, lasting connections and collaborations with communities.”
It can sound like a desperate echo in the wrong hands, but those words are spoken by an artist commissioned by an organisation who has that access. If this evaluation is properly taken to heart, and the process of access to space is led by that desire for lasting connections, that gives me hope.
I needed that, given the opening to this paper.
—
Zine launch & exhibition took place 1st May 2026. Follow @ideas.work_ &
@phoebsvt for more like this
Words, Patrick Kirk-Smith
