Actions: What You Can Do With the City
26th November '08 - 19th April '09
Canadian Centre for Architecture
1920 Baile Street, Montreal, Quebec
The Canadian Centre for Architecture presents the exhibition Actions: What You Can Do With the City, an exhibition with 99 actions that instigate positive change in contemporary cities around the world.
The exhibition documents and presents specific projects by a large and diverse group of activists whose personal involvement has triggered radical change in today’s cities.
Seemingly common activities such as walking, playing, recycling, and gardening are pushed beyond their usual definition by the international architects, designers, artists, and collectives featured in the exhibition.
Their experimental interactions with the urban environment show the potential influence personal involvement can have in shaping the city, and challenge fellow residents to participate.
The 99 actions featured include projects related to the production of food and possibilities of urban agriculture; the planning and creation of public spaces to strengthen community interactions; the recycling of abandoned buildings for new purposes; the use of the urban fabric as a terrain for play such as soccer, climbing, or skateboarding; the alternate use of roads for walking, or rail lines as park space; the design of clothing to circumvent urban barriers against resting on benches or sliding on railings; among others.
In addition, the exhibition has an accompanying website which presents a toolkit to inspire actions in the city. The website features photographs and video resources, and challenges users to respond by posting their own thoughts or initiatives on how to improve the city through individual action.
