Block Party

Additional Information

Other associated events: Artist Talk and opening reception with Jen Delos Reyes: Saturday, August 1, 2:00 pm Party Animal: Block Party and artist talk with Jessica James Lansdon: Saturday, September 12, 2:00 pm

Block Party is a playful experiment in community formation through the socially-engaged art practices of three artists. Jen Delos Reyes has invited collaborators Jessica James Lansdon and Lori Gordon to take part in an exhibition that will develop out of the encounters between the artists, the Sherwood Village Branch Library, and its neighbourhood. Jen Delos Reyes polled people who live in the Sherwood Village neighborhood to get a sense of their musical tastes. Once the information was gathered, Delos Reyes assembled a volunteer choir, which travelled through the neighborhood, stopping on the survey respondents’ doorsteps to sing the residents’ favourite songs. Video from the performances will be exhibited in the gallery. The textual declarations that appear as Lori Gordon’s Snippets are derived from things Gordon has overheard. By sharing these messages for others consider, Lori opens private conversations up to reinterpretation as advertising, song lyrics, or an insider’s joke. For Block Party, one large snippet is painted on the gallery wall, and a newspaper of snippets is being distributed throughout the neighborhood. Jessica James Lansdon has constructed an elaborate party space by installing party decorations in the gallery. The centerpiece for her installation is a large wire sculptural armature of an animal. The remainder of the project is a hybrid of a party, performance art, and collaborative sculpture. Everyone is invited to the gallery on September 12th to tear down the colourful decorations and to gather the party detritus to be stuffed into the sculpture’s wire armature while enjoying food, drinks and each other’s company.

Block Party (Installation View), 2009.