The meeting opened with a presentation from Sara Faridamin and this was followed with a discussion on the future of the Crossing Lines group. Austin Guest’s note on this ends this report.

Sara showed her images of a very large barge aground next to a riverside park a little distant from the centre of Vancouver. There had been fear that the drifting barge might endanger a major bridge but, instead, it ran aground at the park and became an object of fascination with attempts at boarding it and questions asked about its naming (or that of the park): shouldn’t it have been an indigenous name? It seemed calmly accepted as a feature of the park.

Being too large and heavy to re-float and move, the barge is slowly being demolished with completion expected in no less than a year. Sara will continue monitoring progress before considering where or how the photos will be used.

The discussion on the Group covered a number of matters of concern or interest:

Hosting. Sharing hosting duties between more participants would potentially lead to greater variety in the format of meetings, as well as reducing the burden on individual presenters. Two volunteers expressed interest in hosting. This new approach is intended to commence in January 2023.

Content. Setting themes for individual meetings is under consideration. One such theme may be “Single Image”.

Meeting Locations. Some participants miss the social aspect of in-person meetings. These were previously held at Goldsmiths, but it is unclear whether a room would still be available there. The possibility of holding personal meetings on an occasional basis was discussed, if only once a year to serve as an AGM. Holding more frequent meetings would necessitate the purchase of equipment, for which no budget currently exists. Hybrid meetings have been considered, in this and other groups, but considered unfeasible.

New Members. The weakening of historic links with Goldsmiths has led to diminishing numbers of new Crossing Lines/LIP members from the traditional course route. Links with other universities have been explored by LIP previously, but the possibility will be investigated again, particularly with the University of Westminster. (NB. This does not preclude reviving the link to Goldsmiths. PL)

Mission Statement. An updating of the statement was suggested, to develop Peter’s original version. Any such new document would be a useful item when pitching Crossing Lines to potential new members, particularly within universities. Key words discussed included “urbanism” as a shared interest, along with landscape, communities and manufactured space. It was noted that much apparently natural space is man-made in some way, even outside urban areas, and that this is an area worthy of more exploration. There is also an international aspect to each subject of interest.

Next Meeting. Astrid Zweynert has agreed to present at the next meeting, on Wednesday 5th October. Her subject will be the evolution of the common doorbell into a surveillance tool. The second presenter has yet to be confirmed.