Viva Brighton Issue #83 January 2020

VIVA
B R I G H T O N
#83 JAN 2020
EDITORIAL
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New Year brings with it all the promise of
renewal and the chance to start over. But new
doesn’t necessarily mean better. (Consider the
residents of Brighton’s West Laine, whose entire
neighbourhood was razed to make way for the
Brutalist terraces of Churchill Square. See page 82.
I doubt they were too enamoured with ‘the new’.)
That said – judging by the state of things – it can’t
be that the old ways are always the best either.
Perhaps we need to start with a blank sheet of
paper. Rethink how we do things. Go back to the
drawing board?
In these pages, you’ll find people who are starting
from scratch, coming up with new ideas or daring
to do things differently. Championing the new is
Olga Hopton, MD of Plus X – the soon to open
Innovation Hub on Lewes Road, where hundreds
of creative thinkers will find the space to realise
their ideas. Adam Bronkhorst meets some of the
members at PLATF9RM who are already sowing
the seeds of positive change. We drop in on Free
University Brighton who organise free educational
events across the city, and visit Brighton Waldorf
School who are putting ecology and global
citizenship on the timetable. And we climb aboard
ONCA’s repurposed Humber Barge – home to
their Curiosity Club, where young people work
with science, art and technology to find solutions
to real-world problems. I’ve no doubt that they
will soon be creating the world anew.
If all that leaves you feeling inspired, it might be
time to get on board yourself. Start something up.
Share your ideas. Be part of the solution. Make
your mark.