BCL – Page 8 – Broken City Lab

July 17, 2012July 5, 2018

Planning for Civic Maintenance

While some of us were away last week in North Bay, Sara and Kevin caught up to talk through some ideas around the next project we’ll be hosting out of CIVIC SPACE. It was an excellent welcome home to walk into a wall of notes from their conversation. Anxious to keep talking through these ideas later on this week.

Civic Maintenance is the working title of this next project, and it’s moving towards the direction of a letter-writing campaign to thousands of citizens of Windsor. We’re thinking about what it means to maintain relationships and connections in the city and how simple gestures might reframe the ways in which we feel connected (or don’t) to the city.

Sara drafted a potential design on the chalkboard.

If we’re going to be able to write a couple thousand letters, we’re also going to be looking for ways to open up the project for other community members to participate.

Sending letters to city hall.

Funny question around planning for a potential exhibition of the letters and letter writing process — “is this too art?”

Exhibition planning.

BCL mailbox!

Letter design templates.

This drawing opened up the idea of having a series of mailboxes on the walls (at least for me!)

Fill in the blanks to generate content?

Outdoor mailbox.

Submitting writing and letter drafts through a web form.

The wall and caption. More soon.

July 13, 2012July 5, 2018

100 Emergencies for North Bay (Projections in Downtown)

Thursday night, our last night in North Bay as part of our residency, we did a large-scale public projection as a kind of summary of our conversations, and as a bit of a starting point for where we see the exhibition going. Almost next door to the White Water Gallery is this huge blank wall — the perfect surface for projections.

Our old battery is starting to show its age — during a test earlier in the day, we only got about 30 minutes of useable power from it.

Earlier, testing the projector on battery power while compiling a list of emergencies, pulling from Wednesday night’s workshop.

To make up for the lack of available battery power, we ended up stringing together a bunch of extension cords (courtesy of Kathleen) to the White Water.

We had precompiled the list of 100 Emergencies for North Bay, so we used Keynote.

At dusk around 9pm, setting up the projector.

Danielle, tough and ready to guard the gear. We tried to wait out the lingering daylight for a while, as even with our 5200 lumens projector, the distance and sunset weren’t giving us the contrast we had hoped for inititally.

But, shortly thereafter, we begin … a list of 100 emergencies (invented, emerging, or already experienced) that shape North Bay and might articulate a way forward in thinking about the urgent things that shape the city and community.

Rosina documented with a ton of video — can’t wait to see it!

Danielle watched the gear and struck up conversations with passersby — and this is one of the best reasons to do this kind of work — it creates this really great entry point to conversations we wouldn’t have otherwise had.

As the projection wrapped up about an hour later, we did a few improved slides based on some conversations we had with folks passing by.

Our setup from the edge of the parking lot, on the sidewalk in downtown North Bay.

Quick changes / additions in Keynote.

Then turning our focus across the street for a few minutes.

We had a really great week in North Bay and we’re so excited to start working on the exhibition for September. Huge thanks to Clayton, Eric, Robyn and Kathleen at White Water, and to everyone who came out to our walk, workshops, or talked to us during the projection!

July 12, 2012July 5, 2018

Learning About the Emerging Emergencies of North Bay

We’re in North Bay on a residency as we prepare for an exhibition this fall at the White Water Gallery. After spending Monday getting acquainted with the downtown, we ventured further out. Of course, we had to stop at the North Bay arch. Getting a sense of these kinds of structural parts of the city that have, in a way, become shorthand for the entire geography has been helping us to shape the outlines of the exhibition.

Continue reading “Learning About the Emerging Emergencies of North Bay”

July 11, 2012July 5, 2018

IN STORE: NON-PLACE

Another incredible look back at SRSI from 2010, this time featuring Andrea Carvalho‘s work on non-places. Daragh Sankey continues to amaze us with these micro-documents … can’t wait to see what’s next!

Here’s the overview from In Store:

Chappas

We also saw this neighbourhood in The Border – the new-looking houses that Lee’s group explores, right on the edge of the wilderness, are right down the street from the Chappas houses that Simon (of DoUC fame) and Andrea find flowers in.

The area is vacant because the government bought up all the property. (Here is an example document given to landowners) The whole region lies in the path of the Detroit River International Crossing, the government’s new bridge to Detroit, just approved by PM Harper in June. Part of the project is to extend the 401 right to the bridge, so a huge swath of Windsor around Huron Church has been vacant for some time.

The first time I drove into Windsor I drove through this area and the visual impact was powerful. Only later did I hear about the DRIC, and the impact was dulled somewhat: just as on Indian Road (film coming soon!), the houses and stores were sold by the owners for good money, not abandoned due to economic hardship.

Upon further reflection though, there is a different kind of hardship at play. These giant transportation projects, cutting as they do through great swaths of the city, indicate that Windsor is valued more as a place to pass through than a place to live. “Canada’s busiest border crossing” is too powerful a thing; the gardens of Chappas, as they are in its way, cannot hope to stand.

Non-place

Andrea talked about this concept a lot. To quote:

Marc Augé coined the term non-lieux [non-places] to describe specific kinds of spaces, chiefly architectural and technological, designed to be passed through or consumed rather than appropriated, and retaining little or no trace of our engagement with them. These spaces, principally associated with transit and communication, are for Augé the defining characteristics of the contemporary period he calls ‘supermodernity,’ the product and agent of a contemporary crisis in social relations and consequently in the construction of individual identities through such relations.

The parking lot we see at the beginning of this film is a non-place. The vacant lot in which Andrea and Simon placed the flowers was a non-place, but by their action, dropped the non-. Maybe many more actions like that could cumulatively do the same for Windsor as a whole.

Here’s the original Andrea video from SRSI, for what it’s worth: SRSI – Andrea Carvalho.

July 9, 2012July 5, 2018

Exploring North Bay (prep for Surviving North Bay)

We’re in North Bay for a residency in preparation of an upcoming exhibition. White Water Gallery is our gracious host (and for the first half of the day, our introduction to North Bay).

Much of the day is on foot, with cameras.

We record what we can about the city’s history and get a read of the direction the city moves towards — though this movement, or lack thereof, already feels central to the things we want to take up here.

We break at the edge of Lake Nipissing.

Throughout our roaming, we documented a lot of the signage around the (very tidy) downtown core — trying to get a read of how residents, business owners, and the municipality itself negotiates communication strategies — and certainly, what they’re trying to communicate.

And on that note, the night winds down with some very preliminary sketching around ideas of emergencies (or, again, lack thereof) in North Bay. Tomorrow, more exploring as we prepare for the evening’s psychogeographic walk, starting at 8pm. It’s feeling late, but it’s early in the project — much more tomorrow.

July 2, 2012July 5, 2018

Research Trip: Residency at White Water Gallery for A Northern Locality

gateway-640 — photo: http://www.merlex.ca/

We’re heading up to White Water Gallery next week for a weeklong residency exploring a northern locality — this work will inform an exhibition coming up in the fall!

Over the course of a weeklong residency, we will engage in a series of exploratory public interventions, micro-gestures, and tactical DIY responses to North Bay.

Join us on Tuesday night at 8pm for a psycho-geographic walk around the downtown starting at White Water Gallery, an “afternoon intervention task force” on Wednesday at 7pm, and an outdoor participatory public projection event on Thursday night at 9pm.

Each event will call on public participation to engage with North Bay, its infrastructures and its communities. Throughout the residency, we’ll be collecting research on North Bay in support of an exhibition in the fall that will aim to not only examine the practice and production of a northern locality, but also present a range of resistive tactics that can help the community survive, or help one survive the community.

June 28, 2012July 5, 2018

Zine Night / Micro-Publishing for All #1 @ CIVIC SPACE

Here’s a quick look at the start of the fun last night at CIVIC SPACE for Rosina‘s Micro-Publishing for All: Zine Night #1.

But, not to worry if you weren’t able to make it, next week: same time, same place. Publish with us!!!

June 25, 2012July 5, 2018

Check it: Captioning the City with the Letter Library

Some of our single use cameras have been developed and placed on our Letter Library grid wall. Above are some of our favourites so far!

There has been such a diverse array of captions coming in, and we’re so excited to develop the rest of the cameras to see what other captions were created, but we need your help.

Come by and contribute to the Letter Library archive and caption the city with your own words (and in turn, help us get these pictures printed!). We’re open every day this week from 11:00 am to 4:30 pm!

June 22, 2012July 5, 2018

Recap of the Letter Library Opening Event!

It’s been an incredible few weeks prepping for the launch of CIVIC SPACE and the Letter Library. Huge props to everyone who helped out, especially Kiki Athanassiadis & Lucy Howe! There’s a few hundred letters strewn about the space, waiting for you to takeout and caption the city. Stop by over the next few weeks — we’re Monday – Friday 11am – 4:30pm + Tuesday-Thursday 7-9:30pm. There’s more information on CIVIC SPACE on the new website too!

But before a total recap, it’s worth posting on some of the things that came together in preparing for the launch. Above, Josh’s extender-tool to reach high places with letters. Hacked together from a lot of spare wood and a paint roller.

The shelves of letters waiting to be hung.

Josh testing the rigidity of his extender tool.

And then, a street test.

Josh reaches.

It works.

Then, onto installing the more permanent sign on our building … atop the ladder.

Hiba at dusk.

Inside, prepping the file for the vinyl cut.

End of the night before the big day.

The next morning, Hiba and Rosina head back out to finish installing the sign.

Inside, weeding the vinyl.

Negative.

Across the street, Hiba talks to Claire Bronwell.

Inside, Rosina works on installing photos for the collage wall.

Getting reading to install the vinyl.

Meanwhile, Hiba, Kevin, and Kiki start mounting the letters on our walls.

Vinyl, installed.

Ro working on the photo wall.

Then, the launch kicks off with letters immediately heading out into the streets.

There was an incredible group of people floating in and out all week. We’re excited to get the photos back once the rolls are finished off.

From the outside, an installation…

Entering the space from our front door.

Proof of fun.

More letter selections.

Library card.

Piling letters before heading out.

Kiki making her selection.

Letter hunting.

Then, Hiba puts the returned letters back up.

Kevin converses.

The photo wall.

The letter wall, as people bring back their letters.

Last install of the evening.

Huge thanks to everyone who came out for our first event. As the rolls get finished, we’ll be installing them on the wall and posting them on the site. And, remember, the Letter Library is still open. If you’re in the neighbourhood stop by!

More soon, but first, a weekend to recover.

June 20, 2012July 5, 2018

Installing the sign for CIVIC SPACE, take 1

Installing some signage on the exterior wall of CIVIC SPACE (10)

Last night, Hiba, Sara, and Justin tackled some initial planning for the installation of the CIVIC SPACE / Letter Library sign. The Letter Library idea came out of trying to think through how we might make our own sign for the space, so it’s really great to finally see the letters going up.