The images in this book are part of a project documenting small rural communities (1,000 inhabitants or less) in the Canadian West. As demographic changes – ‘rural drain, urban claim’ – persist, many would argue that the rural is becoming a redundant sidepiece in a world that is increasingly concerned with the urban. The project investigates how rural communities in the Canadian West struggle to hold onto their heritage despite the diminishing vitality of these towns.

Kyler Zeleny is a Canadian visual sociologist. He is interested in found photography, family albums and the politics of archives. He received his bachelors in Political Science from the University of Alberta and his masters from Goldsmiths College, University of London, in Photography and Urban Cultures. He is a member of the Association of Urban Photographers (AUP). Kyler currently lives in Toronto, where he is a doctoral student in a joint Ryerson & York communication and culture program.