Justin Langlois:
Neighbourhood Time Exchange | Downtown Prince George
7:30 pm, Thursday, November 17, 2016
Two Rivers Gallery,
725 Canada Games Way, Prince George, BC
Taking place in a storefront studio in downtown Prince George, the Neighbourhood Time Exchange | Downtown Prince George is a ground-breaking artist residency that uniquely positions community organizations to work directly with artists towards objectives of social, civic and economic revitalization. The project operates on a simple principle: for every hour an artist spends in their studio, they provide an hour of volunteer service to the community. This residency aims to explore the concept of time banking, in which artists and community members work together for mutual benefit through the exchange of resources, demonstrated and enacted in a highly public setting.
Designed and curated by Justin Langlois, the Neighbourhood Time Exchange | Downtown Prince George features nine artists who will complete month-long residencies through 2016-2107. The project is a partnership between Living Labs at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and Downtown Prince George. Community collaborators include Two Rivers Gallery, Downtown Prince George, the City of Prince George, the Recycling and Environmental Action Planning Society, Innovation Central Society, the Prince George Public Library, Prince George Beautification Committee, and the Prince George Activators Society.
The Neighbourhood Time Exchange creates a framework which demonstrates the often-invisible resources of a neighbourhood (the people, the history, and the experience of everyday life). These can be understood as highly valuable components in revitalizing a neighbourhood. By providing clear intersections and negotiations of time between community residents and visiting artists, the Neighbourhood Time Exchange can cultivate a new dynamic and role for creativity and reciprocity in the revitalization of a neighbourhood. The project 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 clarify what is and is not possible under these conditions and dynamics, and ultimately collectively revitalize the neighbourhood.
Justin Langlois, Curator, is an artist, educator, and organizer. He is the co-founder and research director of Broken City Lab, an artist-led collective working to explore the complexities of locality, infrastructures, and participation in relation to civic engagement and social change, and he is the founder of The School for Eventual Vacancy. His practice explores collaborative structures, critical pedagogy, and custodial frameworks as tools for gathering, learning, and making. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Social Practice in the Faculty of Culture + Community at Emily Carr University of Art and Design and a Senior Researcher with Living Labs. He lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.
The Neighbourhood Time Exchange | Downtown Prince George is a partnership between Living Labs at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and Downtown Prince George. Through this partnership, Downtown Prince George will look 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.
For more information
info@neighbourhoodtime.exchange | neighbourhoodtime.exchange
Visit the Studio
Open Tuesdays, 4:00 – 6:00 pm
1119 Third Ave. Prince George
