do it

Art Gallery at Evergreen, "do it," 2018

Opening Reception: Wednesday, July 18, 6:30 – 8:30pm

“do it is a kind of Catcher in the Rye for the curatorial world; it is a transformative mandatory read that connects a blur of dots into a cohesive and inviting image of both the art universe and the universeof ideas.” — Douglas Coupland

do it began in Paris in 1993 as a conversation between curator Hans Ulrich Obrist and artists Christian Boltanski and Bertrand Lavier. They were curious to see what would happen if they started an exhibition that could constantly generate new versions of itself. To test the idea, they invited 12artists to propose artworks based on written “scores” or instructions that can be openly interpretedevery time they are presented. The instructions were then translated into nine different languages and circulated internationally as a book.

Since then, hundreds of artists have been invited to submit instructions, and do it has taken place all over the world from Austria to Australia, from Thailand to Uruguay, from Canada to Iceland giving new meaning to the concept of an exhibition in progress. Each do it exhibition is uniquely site- specific because it engages the local community in a dialogue that responds to a set of instructions. As a result, do it is less concerned with copies, images, or reproductions of artworks, than with human interpretation. No two iterations of the same instructions are ever identical.

This summer, the Art Gallery at Evergreen (AGE) reinterprets the touring exhibition do it. We are collaborating with our summer campers, festivalgoers, local organizations and Evergreen staff and visitors to creatively represent 41 instructional artworks from the “do it: compendium’s list of 250”. This immense collection of open-ended instructions written by artists has circulated worldwide and now comes to Coquitlam. Our iteration of this evolving exhibition unfolds in the art gallery, during our summer camps, out in the community and on social media. do it at the AGE includes completed wall drawings and sculptural installations, works-in-progress that build over the duration of the exhibition and one-off performances and art activities.