2020 - 2021
A community economy is an economy centred on ethical considerations — a space of decision making where our interdependence is recognised and negotiated with other humans, other species, and our environment.
- J.K. Gibson- Graham
Reframing Community Economies
Reframing Community Economies was a research enquiry in partnership with Miguel Amado (Sirius Arts Centre) that explored the concept of the 'community economy' as an ecological approach to creating a more sustainable and equitable future for communities.
Situated on Great Island, a small island community in Cork Harbour on the south coast of Ireland, the project addressed the complex environmental and economic challenges facing the area. These challenges include a history of heavy industry, the emergence of a tourism-driven economy centered around cruise liners in Cobh, and a two-decade-long campaign against the proposed construction of an incinerator in nearby Ringaskiddy.
The research centered around the question: How can we, as an island community, creatively imagine and co-create a more sustainable and equitable future? To foster this exploration, a six-month online public engagement program was held from December 2020 to June 2021, featuring presentations, discussions, workshops, and readings.
Recordings available on SIRIUS YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjsDRslOgvMB8mpMc6ONpxA/videos
Reading group around the book Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st- Century Economist, by Kate Raworth, led by Stephen Thornhill
Artist presentation on community currency, feminismand the redefinition of the notions of value, worth and distribution by Ailie Rutherford, artist and initiator of the People’s Bank of Govanhill
Workshop on ‘Redrawing the Economy’: Great Island case, led by Colette Lewis and Miguel Amado
Artist presentation on the economy as a public realm and enterprise as art by Kathrin Böhm, artist and co-founder of the Centre for Plausible Economies, c/o Company Drinks
Redrawing the Economy : Great Island
The Iceberg Representation of a Diverse Economy was created during an online workshop with participants using the Miro board. This model, shaped like an iceberg, is based on an outline map of Great Island and visually maps the diverse, informal economies operating within the island community.
Above the waterline, the iceberg represents wage labour, market exchange of commodities, and capitalist enterprises. Below the waterline, it reveals non-market forms of exchange, such as mutual care, cooperation, and emotional labour, which are vital yet often invisible aspects of the economy. This below-the-waterline portion highlights the foundational exchanges and common knowledge that shape the everyday life of the community, often overlooked in traditional economic models.
The Redrawing the Economy Iceberg model was devised by the Community Economies Research Network (CERN).
https://redrawingtheeconomy.info
In partnership with SIRIUS and Cobh Zero Waste
Supported by the Creative Ireland County Cork Grant Scheme
