Fostering Ecology & Community: Writing a Play for Co-Created Housing with Queer Youth-at-Risk, and Stewarding Festivals to Re-Imagine the Wilderness

Abstract

Foster Ecology and Community joins architecture and theatre to explore the intersections between marginalized queer youth-at-risk and the threatened forests of Epekwitk (Prince Edward Island). Inspired by the annual River Clyde Pageant art festival, the project reimagines stewardship through the tensions between home-making, land, creation, demolition and reclamation. Through the design and production of a multimedia puppet show – integrating architectural representation and methods – this thesis envisions regenerative relationships between festivals, ecological care, and community programming.