In February 2023, the City of Vancouver hosted public consultation sessions for the Rupert and Renfrew Station Area Plan, a long-term framework guiding how this area of East Vancouver, with Still Creek at its centre, will grow in the future. These open houses build on a previous phase of engagement during the spring of 2022 where the community identified opportunities and challenges.
To bring community imagination into the planning process, Still Moon Arts Society was invited to lead a creative engagement activity called the Community Vision Felt. Community members joined artists Carmen Rosen and Varsha Gill from Still Moon Arts Society to create a participatory Community Vision Quilt. This
participatory artwork turned each open house into a collaborative space for residents to co-create a vision of the neighbourhood’s future. The colourful quilt was felted from locally-raised wool. The artists guided community members in needle-felting elements of their choosing which were incorporated into the overall design.
Four open houses were held, at Thunderbird Community Centre, Vancouver Technical School, the Renfrew Community Centre and Renfrew Public Library. Conversations around the felting table helped the community members reflect on what they value and imagine new possibilities. Attendees also viewed information boards from the City of Vancouver and talked one-on-one with planners from the City to let them know how they would like the community to evolve. Discussions touched on ideas about community spaces, arts and culture, heritage, natural areas, housing options, spiritual spaces, educational spaces,
transportation, shops and services, and the stories and places people value.
In February 2025, during the final open houses for the Plan, community members were invited to help create a second felt, ‘Waterways Cultureways’ which focussed on how water, culture, nature, and city life might come together along Still Creek, at the heart of the Rupert-Renfrew Station Area.
The final area plan was approved in 2025.
The Community Vision Felt continues to grow as a living artwork, expressing shared hopes for how the Rupert and Renfrew station area can integrate community life with the rhythms of its natural waterways.
