Jennifer is the Culture and Pathways Manager at 107 Green Square, which is located at Joynton Avenue Creative Centre. She describes Green Square as an evolving and transitional place.

‘Green Square is really forming its community and the connections between what is here, what is happening and what is to come,’ she says.

When Jennifer first started at 107 Green Square was in the early stages of development. Sustainability and community were a big part of the future vision: creating green spaces, planting native plants and establishing sustainable practices such as storm water recycling all formed part of the planning process.

Jennifer could see the potential that was emerging – she says she often found herself trying to imagine ‘what it would be like between the cranes’ – but wanted to help people understand what the precinct had to offer, as well as to identify existing communities and activities within the area and connect them to Green Square’s future.

‘People are putting those pieces of the puzzle together now but for a long time that connection wasn’t there – it was a bit of an overwhelming space for people,’ she says.

Projects at 107 by artists such as Gadigal, Wiradjuri and Yuin artist Nadeena Dixon have really helped develop the precinct’s identity and supported local residents to build connections with the area.

During the 2021 lockdown, Nadeena created a package that was posted to local residents. The package included instructions for making a guardian owl to watch over people in their homes and a patch of hessian to decorate using natural elements from the local environment. Residents could then return their decorated hessian to Nadeena where it became part of a large-scale installation at 107. The package also included a Mapping Edges map of Green Square to help residents explore the area.

‘With Nadeena’s project, [locals] were really asked to reflect on their own environment. The responses are so beautiful and thoughtful and show people really interacting with green spaces and expressing feelings of hope,’ Jennifer says.

The sense of connection that emerged during this process has only been strengthened during the pandemic, which Jennifer believes has forced people to pay more attention to their local areas.

‘The pandemic has made people explore all the small pockets of the neighbourhood – the hyperlocal,’ she says.