Holding Space

In September, 2019 a second community event was held to unveil a Design Justice project, Holding Space, supported by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Over 40 community members  attended the unveiling of the Holding Space panels. AIA funding was used to purchase  materials for local YouthBuild KCK trainees to construct six movable wall panel systems as part of their AmeriCorps community service requirements.

The panels were subdivided into three sets of two. The first two included an overall narrative and incorporated art from local  artist JT Daniels, which was made available through the KC Voices collaboration. The second  pair of panels features a map that documents the historical location of about 30 Northeast  KCK grocery stores, almost all of which have closed or moved. This was made possible  thanks to historical documents and an oral history interview with a local community champion,  Mr. Chester Owens. The final pair of panels featured the recent community collaboration that  cleaned up the Northeast Grocers site and the first Project Pipeline KC.  

Together, these panels represent the past, present,  and future efforts of Northeast KCK residents who are working together to create a  cooperative grocery store in the heart of their neighborhood. As the multi-year planning  process for the grocery cooperative begins to take shape, the panels will continue to be  adapted and serve the community-led initiative through increasing the secured storage  capacity, sharing community feedback, and facilitating methods of participatory design and decision-making. A recent article about the project was published in Architect Magazine.