Lisa Hamilton

California is often characterized as a state in which the north and south differ politically and culturally, but differences between its coast and inland areas may be even more profound. The current year’s drought exacerbates the coast-versus-valleys tension as major cities vie with the state’s agricultural center for water. Intending “to start a new conversation between the two parts of California that are at best disconnected, and often at odds,” in 2010, photographer and writer Lisa Hamilton secured a grant from the Creative Work Fund to collaborate with Roots of Change.