The Relationship Is the Project is a guidebook to working with communities. The work explicitly asks the reader to consider not only how art is created but from where that art comes – and it so often comes from community.

Originally conceived by Jade Lillie, this work came together through a multi-year collaboration with Kate Larsen, Cara Kirkwood, and Jax Brown. The overall process is a demonstration of the ethos espoused in the work – relationships matter. Each of the four editors brought a different perspective and experience, making this collection an iterative collaboration coming closer to representing what communities within the arts and cultural sector have expressed a desire for.

This book is an unusual work, demanding to be reviewed for its content as well as for its stated purpose. To consider only one would be to misunderstand the work, which articulates not only that relationships matter, but also that context and positionality and perspective always matter.