Located in downtown Prince George, the Neighbourhood Time Exchange is an artist residency model that operates on a simple principle: for every hour an artist spends in their studio, they contribute an hour of volunteer time working with a Community Partner. This residency uses the concept of time banking, in which artists and community members work together for mutual benefit. Community Partners provide ideas, their expertise on the needs of the city, and a context for the artist. Artists provide their vision, their unique perspectives, and their specialized skills.

The Neighbourhood Time Exchange residency offers a framework through which the often-invisible resources of a neighborhood (the people, the history, and the experience of everyday life) can be understood as highly valuable components in making positive change in a community. By providing clear intersections and negotiations of time between community residents and artists-in-residence, the Neighbourhood Time Exchange aims to cultivate a new dynamic and role for creativity and reciprocity in the revitalization of a neighborhood.

The Neighborhood Time Exchange also aims to explore the challenges of sharing power, decision-making and public trust between community members, artists, and organizations by employing a pragmatic and visible public reciprocity that allows for explicit exchanges of power and resources. Together, artists and community members identify and then aim to undo boundaries denoting sites of art, exchange, and necessary labour to help to animate and enliven the region, providing a platform for social, civic, and economic revitalization.

The Neighbourhood Time Exchange will host local and visiting artists between September 2016 and April 2017. Each of these artists will spend a month living in Prince George, where they will be highly involved with the life and local culture of the city. The selected artists will have access to a dedicated studio space in downtown Prince George, and will be supported through production assistants, production budgets, dialogue, and studio visits. The Community Partner, which may include non-profits, elementary or secondary schools, social service organizations, labour unions, locally owned businesses, or other organizations, will be supported in the realization of their vision for the community.

In addition to the studio work and the community projects facilitated by the Neighbourhood Time Exchange, the residency will also host workshops, talks, and community events that will be open to the public. Many kinds of relationships will be encouraged, built, developed, and nurtured throughout the course of the residency. By sharing power, decision-making and public trust between community members, artists, and organizations, the Neighbourhood Time Exchange will explore new forms for civic operations.

Designed and curated by Vancouver-based artist and Emily Carr University of Art and Design faculty member, Justin Langlois, the Neighbourhood Time Exchange was initially launched in Philadelphia in 2015. The development of the next version of the residency in Prince George aims to expand on the successes of that first model.

The Neighbourhood Time Exchange in Downtown Prince George is a collaboration with Living Labs atEmily Carr University of Art + Design and Downtown Prince George, with funds from the City of Prince George and Northern Development Initiative Trust. This project is an opportunity to engage and collaborate with other Prince George organizations, groups and individuals who wish to capitalize on the assets, inspiration and potential of Prince George’s downtown.