October Newsletter 2026
Friends of Solid State
As we are coming to the end of the year, things are far from slowing down for us down at the head quarters:
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We are getting ready to host our AGM on Thursday October 29th at 6:00 PM. Everyone is invited to join in person or digitally.
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Follow the link to our Eventbrite and sign up
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Fall intake happening soon
Our biannual application portal is opening soon! If you have a
co-operative project in your network that could use support from our program, please spread the word! Our first co-op development info session will take place on Thursday, November 12th, 2026 5:00PM.
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Co-op day 2026 success!
Solid State’s Co-op Day was a vibrant and engaging event that brought together new co-ops, existing co-ops, and community members to celebrate one another's hard work and growth. A standout highlight of the gathering was a fast-paced "passport game," where participants connected in a speed-dating style format to share their stories and get to know each other. After each meaningful conversation, co-ops received a stamp on their passports, building excitement and camaraderie throughout the room. To top it all off, one lucky winner walked away with $500 to reinvest right back into the co-op community!
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FSC Grant Writing Training
The FSC is running our Grant and Proposal Writing Training class once again! This class can help you understand the basics of how to research opportunities, understand if you are a fit, conceptualize a project, write effective applications, and monitor and report on grants you do get. Past participants have felt more confident harnessing opportunities for their cohorts, and have been able to work more smoothly and effectively with the grant writing team.
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📅 The class will be held online, Wednesdays from 6-8pm PT on:
- November 11
- November 18
- November 25
- December 2
Please RSVP to Sadie (sadie@solidstate.coop) as soon as possible and I will add you to the list of participants!
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Pathway to Diversity Exhibition Opens in Montréal
The Pathway to Diversity exhibition opened at Espace Amalgame in Montréal as part of a national project marking 50 years since the adoption of Canada’s 1976 Immigration Act. Bringing together the work of six artists, Natalia Botero, Ogheneofegor Obuwoma, Snack Witch Joni Cheung, Carolina Aguirre, Nasim Makaremi Nia, and Ernest Boateng, the exhibition looks beyond policies and statistics to highlight the lived experiences of people who have shaped and continue to shape Canada.
As part of the Montréal programming, we also co-facilitated a free community art workshop with Montréal-based artist Carolina Aguirre, inviting participants to explore migration, memory, and belonging through creative expression. Thank you to Espace Amalgame, our Montréal partners, the Acts of Listening Lab and PAAL, the participating artists, and everyone who joined us in Montréal to celebrate this special opening!
Coming Up at City in Colour
Join us on November 13 for the public launch of Growing Roots: Refugee-Centric Housing Design Guidelines at SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver. Save your spot here!
Stay tuned to City in Colour on Instagram for the upcoming call for participants for the first iteration of the Newcomer and Refugee Multilingual Urban Solutions Lab (MLUSL), focused on developing a multilingual Tenants’ Rights Campaign through storytelling and creative collaboration.
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YORUBA Black Business Expo
Yoruba Social and Cultural Association of BC, in partnership with the Surrey and White Rock Board of Trade Hosted The Metro Vancouver Black Business Expo. This annual event is an opportunity for Black business owners to showcase their products and services, connect with potential customers and build important brand recognition in the marketplace.
Solid State participated in this wonderful event and managed to make new connections. We are really excited to see our community grow.
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Black Art Center’s show opening
Featuring the work of Alexis Chivir-Ter Tsegba and Fegor Obuwoma, Reroute, Reroute! considers the spaces Black, queer and diasporic communities inhabit, and the ways we continuously contour those spaces, visibly or invisibly, to meet the evolving needs, desires and dreams of those communities.
At the centre of the BAC’s latest exhibition is a question that is as much about queerness as it is about diaspora: how do we make visible the infrastructures that sustain Black and queer life, without subjecting them to the very regimes of legibility, classification, and surveillance from which their opacity sometimes protects them? Can a map preserve opacity?
The work of Alexis Tsegba and Fegor Obuwoma moves within this tension, between visibility and opacity, between the infrastructures that organize our lives and the infrastructures we create for ourselves. Their practices ask what becomes possible when space is not treated as fixed, when maps are understood as partial, and when the things that sustain us are allowed to remain difficult to locate, classify, or contain.
Exhibition is now open from October 9th to January 16th, 2027
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La Libelula closing 2026 on a strong note
La Libélula has had a busy start to fall! From September 22–25, muralists Ari de la Mora and Pamela Gutierrez co-led My Home Has Many Names at Upstart & Crow on Granville Island, where participants transformed heartfelt letters about migration, relationships, and belonging into collages that will inspire a future mural proposal.
On October 16–18, La Libélula co-presented the inaugural Yupi! Latin American Arts Festival in North Vancouver with Neworld Theatre and the Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre. As part of the festival, Fiorella Pinillos and artist Yunuen Perez-Vertti co-facilitated This Is How Latin America Sounds!
Next up, we’re preparing for El Nido / The Nest and the Memories for the Soul exhibition at the STAND Festival!
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Gaza Community Partnership (GCP) Updates
GCP continues to grow its outreach and network alongside community partners across Canada, connecting Gazan evacuees and Palestinian families with resources, support, and opportunities while strengthening and amplifying existing grassroots efforts.
Community Gatherings: In August, GCP hosted its first BC gathering for Gazan families at Solid State, bringing families together to connect, share experiences, and build a sense of belonging after months of displacement and isolation. Building on its success, we're planning a second gathering in November, connecting families with local organizations, advocates, and community initiatives.
Growing Our Team: We're excited to welcome Ayah Alsisi, GCP's first Program Administrator! A Gazan evacuee herself, Ayah brings years of experience in humanitarian work, community development, and nonprofit organizations. Since joining us this October, she is supporting outreach, communications, and coordination as GCP continues to strengthen and expand its national network.
Stay Connected and Support GCP: Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for updates, events, and opportunities to get involved.
Support Gazan and Palestinian families in Canada through our fiscal partner, Islamic Family. Donations are eligible for charitable tax receipts and Zakat.
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