About Detour

Detour is an exhibition of 5 artists’ practices rerouted by an obstruction. SPACES has created a framework for play wherein 5 selected artists meet to discuss their practices and address areas of comfort and discomfort. By the end of the evening each artist will be assigned an obstacle by his/her peers. One artist may rely very heavily on a specific media, but the other 4 artists may agree that it would be good to step out of that comfort zone. Another artist may be asked to utilize a certain subject matter while another may be asked to work collaboratively rather than as a solo artist. Each obstruction is assigned as a playful experiment and a tool for growth rather than a mean-spirited prank.

The artists will then have seven days before the opening of the exhibition to realize their project while skirting around their new obstacle. Each artist will also be paired with someone who will document their processes and decisions. Like announcers at a football game, these individuals will run color commentary to make the artists’ play accessible to the public. SPACES’ website will function as the hub of the color commentary, but the exact relationship of the artist to their documentarian will be negotiated by the pair. Commentary may manifest itself as text, audio, video or some other means.

These artists’ experiments may succeed, and they may fail. That is the nature of a detour. Sometimes a more scenic route is discovered off the beaten path, and sometimes you just get horribly lost. In the end, projects will be realized, but the artistic process will be brought to the forefront and privileged alongside the finished work.