press release - Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

MEDIA
RELEASE
April 21, 2015
Free Play
April 25-August 3, 2015
Founders Gallery
Free Play is an exhibition curated by
Melissa E. Feldman and organized by
Independent Curators International (ICI),
New York. Free Play was made possible,
in part, by grants from the Elizabeth
Firestone Graham Foundation and the
Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, and with
the generous support from ICI’s International
Forum and Board of Trustees.
Free Play Workshop
May 9, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Art Interest Tour
May 22, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Family Sunday
May 24, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Drop-in tours of the exhibit
May 24, June 6 and 14, 2:00 p.m.-3:00
p.m. and June 26 from 7:00 p.m.-8:00
p.m.
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
1040 Moss Street
Victoria, British Columbia V8V 4P1
250.384.4171 aggv.ca
AGGV brings games and gaming exhibition to Victoria
Get ready to play. AGGV is hosting Free Play, a fully hands-on exhibition of games that
puts an unexpected spin on classics such as chess, checkers, blackjack, and video
games.
“Whether their works derive from the playground, the video arcade, the casino, or the rec
room, in reinventing games the artists in Free Play aim to create experiences that reflect
on social, political and cultural realities,” states exhibition curator Melissa Feldman.
The exhibition offers 13 games from 15 artists, including a version of Yoko Ono’s famed
all-white chessboard, Play It By Trust, (1966/2014), first exhibited in London in 1966. The
game of chess here acts as a metaphor for the futility of war. Ono eliminates the colourbased opposition of one side versus another, thus dooming both players to failure and
encouraging us to think about unity rather than divisiveness
“It is exciting to have an entire exhibition where we can ask visitors to “Please Touch The
Art” ,” says AGGV’s curator of engagement Nicole Stanbridge, who notes Free Play is
also an opportunity to demonstrate how art and games can be instruments of social and
political critique and powerful tools of activism.
The theme of the exhibition set out by curator Melissa Feldman also illustrates the long
history of artists using games as a means to inspire creativity. “There are unpredictable
outcomes when we play games, it allows us to challenge our mind to come up with
creative problem solving and imagine alternate possibilities.” says Stanbridge.
Among the arcade of objects in the show is Composition #7 (2010), a version of Guitar
Hero by Cory Arcangel, a hopscotch game by Mary Flanagan called Bombscotch (2013),
and Ryan Gander’s version of blackjack called Parallell Blackjack (2010)—while the more
mystically inclined may gravitate toward Allan McCollum and Matt Mullican’s divining
game Your Fate (2004).
Also opening on April 25, and offered as a complimentary exhibition to Free Play, is
Collecting Contemporary: Opposing Chairs featuring Juan L. Gomez-Perales’ interactive
sculpture. Acquired by the Gallery in 1987, Opposing Chairs focuses on participatory
experience through art and demonstrates some of the many ways artworks are completed
through viewer involvement.
Exhibition related programming:
See aggv.ca for details
Media Contact:
Sandra Hudson
tel. 250-383-5605
or 250-216-1380
media@aggv.ca
Workshop with artist Megan Dickie on May 9 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Drawn from
aspects of her own playful art practice, Victoria-based artist Megan Dickie will lead
participants on a journey of experimentation with unpredictable and surprising results.
Admission is free, sponsored by Scotia McLeod. Limited space available. Registration
begins April 13; email visitor services with your name and phone number:
vistorservices@aggv.ca.
Art Interest Tour - May 22 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Family Sunday - May 24 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Drop-in tours of the exhibition are May 24, June 6 and 14 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and June 26 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
For more information on programs or the exhibition go to aggv.ca or call 250-384-4171.
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