Future ✿ The road ahead

“I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the culture of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.”

Mahatma Gandhi, Young India, June 1, 1921

De-globalisation has seen the emergence of new walls, bolstered by the “My Country First” principle. But the benefits of self-interest are short-term. Our worlds are interwoven. Learning about other cultures helps us better understand our own. And as climate change shows us, we ultimately share the planet as a common home.

Let’s build doors, not walls!

Garland is a platform that can connect people of different cultures through a shared interest in what we can make of our world. Our five-year journey across the Indo Pacific brings together a unique network of thinkers and makers. We’ve learnt a lot. There is extraordinary work out there that would otherwise be overlooked. A craft revival movement is emerging that translates cultural traditions into contemporary form. There is much to do.

“Garland is very valuable to me, where I can know and learn new art and craft, culture from lots of countries, without travelling by ourselves.” Janet Teowarang

With support of our readers, contributors and subscribers, we are determined to continue Garland after its five-year journey has been completed. Garland 2.0 will draw on the network of culture-makers that have used our platform from across the wider world. From next year, we have the chance to work together on some of the big questions that have arisen during our journey. We won’t necessarily come up with single definitive answers, but along the way we can deepen our understanding by awareness of the different perspectives at play. Together, we can appreciate the value of what we make.

Garland has no ongoing funding or advertising. We are dependent on subscribers to continue.

The image above is a Garland cover by Afsaneh Ahmadiana from series of handmade covers made by Iranian refugees at the beginning of the Garland journey.