Picnics for Living Futures: Love Letters to Tomorrow
About this Event
Date: Sunday, August 9, 2026
Time: 2:00 – 4:30 PM
Location: Heron Park, exact meeting location/pin will be shared with registered participants
About This Workshop
What kind of Ottawa do you dream of?
Join us for an afternoon of reflection, storytelling, and creative expression as we imagine the city we hope to call home in 2050.
In this free, trauma and violence-informed workshop, youth ages 18-35 will be invited to slow down, dream boldly, and explore what it means to belong. Through guided reflection, letter writing, and mixed-media art, we’ll imagine an Ottawa where people feel safe, connected, joyful, and deeply cared for – not just by systems, but by one another.
Together, we’ll ask questions like:
- What does your life look like when you have everything you need to thrive, not just survive?
- What kind of neighbour do you hope to be?
- What kind of city do you hope we’ll build together?
Participants will write a Love Letter to Tomorrow, a letter to a neighbour, a future community member, or someone they may never meet, and transform their reflections into a creative collage or artwork representing their vision for Ottawa in 2050.
No previous art or making experience is needed, just curiosity and a willingness to imagine together.
What to Expect
The workshop will include:
- A gentle guided visualization and creative reflection
- Writing a Love Letter to Tomorrow
- Mixed-media collage and creative expression
- Time to share stories, ideas, and collective hopes for Ottawa’s future
Materials and light refreshments will be provided.
About the Facilitator
Fanta Souare is an artist, community organizer, and community worker from Ottawa’s Heatherington neighbourhood. She is the heart behind the art collective Thugs Need Love Too, where she creates safe and soft spaces for grief, healing, joy, and radical love through storytelling, creativity, and collective care for communities made marginalized. Guided by authenticity, compassion, and a deep belief in our capacity to imagine otherwise, Fanta believes community is something we sow, nurture, and grow together. Whether facilitating conversations, creating art, or organizing alongside others, she is passionate about helping people feel seen, heard, and empowered to dream beyond the systems that already exist.
About Picnics for Living Futures
Picnics for Living Futures is a Civic Imagination Lab project inviting youth ages 18-35 across Ottawa to imagine the city they want to live in by 2050. Through free outdoor arts-based workshops, participants explore questions of care, belonging, community, and collective futures through creativity and collaboration.
The ideas and artworks created through this series will contribute to a public showcase and broader conversations about the future of Ottawa.
We can’t wait to imagine and create with you! 💛
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
CAD 0.00
