I think I know what's keeping me here

I’ve been thinking a lot about location this year, and more specifically, what makes a city work for me.

While folks observe Black History Month this time of year, at Afros In Tha City, we observe Black Futures Month. So while location has been on my mind year round, this month in particular feels like an excellent time to ponder place — asking questions like ‘do I have a future in this city?’

Answering this question on my own has proven more difficult than I anticipated, so I find myself asking other people any chance I get. Like actually, any chance I get. If you’re an artist and you’ve been in a room with me in the last six months, I’ve probably asked you “how are you feeling about Calgary?” And if I didn’t ask you, I probably meant to but got distracted by food, dancing, or my own self-doubt. In any case, I love asking people who live here what keeps them here, and I’m especially interested in hearing from racialized artists.

Asides from the usual things that keep anyone anywhere (family, friends, etc), there’s a common theme I hear when I ask artists how they’re feeling about this city and their future in it. Essentially, it’s this: there's an opportunity to grow something new here, and the ground is more fertile than ever before.

For a long time, I looked at this city for what it lacked, touting the narrative that the arts scene wasn’t dynamic enough and any true sense of cultural diversity was nowhere to be found. (It turns out I was looking in the wrong places…but that’s besides my point). For the purposes of this reflection, let’s say this narrative is true. Let’s say you’re on the hunt for a particular scene or opportunity and it just doesn’t exist here. While this can be discouraging, it can also be really exciting, because all of a sudden you’re in the position to create that opportunity for yourself and for the many people in this city who are feeling the same void. You see, it’s one thing to experience a beautiful expression of culture and identity, but to be the one to help create space for that expression…now that’s something else!

Through my conversations with artists that have lived elsewhere and landed in Calgary, I’ve come to understand that this city is different; because not only are there gaps waiting to be filled, but there are people who will support you in filling those gaps. My point? Not every city will allow you to be the architect of a new cultural expression / scene the way Calgary will. I’ve experienced it firsthand — the willingness of folks to support you in the creation of something completely new.

Getting the opportunity to help lay the creative building blocks of a city is rare and exhilarating, because not only do I get to have hope in the future of my city, but I get to play a role in how that future comes to life. So while I don’t know where I’ll end up, there seems to be a real opportunity to create and build something new here, and for now, that feels like enough.