AIA 2×8: Spatial Exchange

We are proud to announce that small talks:LA, the DCo collaborative, won the competition through the @aia_la to design & build the 2019 AIA 2×8 Student Exhibition. The installation, titled Exchange, was open from May 8th-June 7th 2019 at Helms Bakery in Culver City, CA.

Exchange is a forward-thinking take on the traditional gallery setting. It is an equitable space that relies on participatory engagement to celebrate the diversity of pedagogy present in California. Spatial Exchange is a winding art gallery around clustered nodes of engagement. The gallery is flexible and will function at once as an art walk, but also as a space for group discussions. One night it may host a VR watch party, while the next night it may accommodate a lecture by Mayor Eric Garcetti or the next Culver City Neighborhood Council Meeting. We integrated the engagement process from our workshops into the physical design of the space in an effort to promote conversation between students, professionals, and the general public.

small talks:LA prioritizes programming and narrative building in efforts to maximize social interaction. We believe that while exhibitions are temporary, relationships you build and knowledge you learn lasts far beyond the life of an event. When we think about the next life of the installation, we are not only thinking about the re-use of materials but we are also concerned with how the content lives beyond the show. Through the participatory engagement of all visitors, the dialogue and knowledge will be documented and passed on to future iterations of 2×8.

The installation was constructed out of recyclable cardboard tubes. An essential part of our proposal was the next life of the tubes. We donated the building materials to institutions throughout Los Angeles for their impactful use in an educational setting.

Watch the film we developed following the exhibition at this LINK