Two weeks prior to our panel discussion, we gathered migration and settlement workers, community organizers and professionals from the fields of planning, heritage, and museums for a series of four arts-based workshops. Beginning with a self-directed scavenger hunt in the Toronto Ward Museum’s Block by Block exhibition, participants walked through the exhibit and identified examples of cultural heritage that surprised them or insights they would not have gathered from their current research methods, as well as other questions. This immersive experience gave way to a spirited dialogue on issues pertaining to their practice, specifically centered upon the limitations and potential of community-engaged research; and Block by Block’s approach to informed consent processes, co-creative practices, and multi-sectoral partnerships.

The workshops combine and historicize insights from over 100 storytellers on issues pertaining to migration, networks of care, neighbourhood change, and community organizing in attempt to better understand – how can various sectors engage with issues of equity and inclusion, anti-racism in public spaces, youth engagement, ethical arts-based research with marginalized communities, and the intersections of race, identity, neighbourhood change, and community resilience to build more inclusive cities? Furthermore, how can community-based oral history methodology inform and advance more equitable planning and heritage policies and practices?