Our Space/Building Community originated in the MySpace era as an examination of how and why objects hold meaning and how virtual connections and virtual communities overlay with physical communities and physical objects.
The activity stems from the idea of the Potlatch, a public ritual/festival/feast involving a gift exchange. Practiced by some indigenous cultures, Potlatch was a community celebration of important events, but also a redistribution and reciprocity of wealth. Once banned by Canadian and US governments, it was considered a wasteful and unproductive custom, not associated with “civilized” values. As artists and community activists, we wish to reconsider this custom as an antidote to internet based virtual exchanges, art commodification and market driven connections. It is our belief that real objects exchanged in a real space, in a real community, can initiate real connections between people and communities.
BRING IN SOMETHING SMALL, SOMETHING YOU CREATED,
SOMETHING FOUND, SOMETHING MEANINGFUL.- TRADE IT
"Circular giving differs from reciprocal giving in several ways. First, when the gift moves in a circle no one ever receives it from the same person he gives it to....When the gift moves in a circle its motion is beyond the control of the personal ego, and so each bearer must be a part of the group and each donation is an act of social faith".
The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property, by Lewis Hyde
Our Space/Creative Exchange was a component of the art exhibits Voices: Mapping the Hood - 2009 at Art Produce Gallery, and Common Space, City College Gallery 2016
The activity stems from the idea of the Potlatch, a public ritual/festival/feast involving a gift exchange. Practiced by some indigenous cultures, Potlatch was a community celebration of important events, but also a redistribution and reciprocity of wealth. Once banned by Canadian and US governments, it was considered a wasteful and unproductive custom, not associated with “civilized” values. As artists and community activists, we wish to reconsider this custom as an antidote to internet based virtual exchanges, art commodification and market driven connections. It is our belief that real objects exchanged in a real space, in a real community, can initiate real connections between people and communities.
BRING IN SOMETHING SMALL, SOMETHING YOU CREATED,
SOMETHING FOUND, SOMETHING MEANINGFUL.- TRADE IT
"Circular giving differs from reciprocal giving in several ways. First, when the gift moves in a circle no one ever receives it from the same person he gives it to....When the gift moves in a circle its motion is beyond the control of the personal ego, and so each bearer must be a part of the group and each donation is an act of social faith".
The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property, by Lewis Hyde
Our Space/Creative Exchange was a component of the art exhibits Voices: Mapping the Hood - 2009 at Art Produce Gallery, and Common Space, City College Gallery 2016
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