The City of Richgate: Decentered Public Pedagogy

A recent a/r/tographic community-based research project called Richgate involves a public pedagogy that addresses the lived experience of eight families1 in the City of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. “Richgate” is a Chinese translation for the name of the city of Richmond. The eight participating families have migrated to Canada at various times in history, from China, Estonia, Japan, South Africa, Western Europe, and India. The four-year SSHRC2 funded project consisted of a/r/tographers3 working with inter-generational families through interviews, collaboratively designed works of art, and public exhibitions focusing on issues of identity and belonging. The a/r/tographic process generated new combinations and patterns as well as different alternatives and connections for ways in which publics co-exist.