Cold South
Christopher Joshua Benton, Abu Dhabi
Description
Friendcraft is my definition for the art of making and maintaining new friends. It proposes a type of friendship urbanism where hospitality is a method, friendship is the outcome, and a work of art is sometimes a result. This socially engaged art practice flattens hierarchies between art & craft; artist & non-artist; and spectator & collaborator–proposing a mode of co-design that centers community, communing, and sharing at a civic scale.
Since touching down in Vancouver, I’ve been pursuing the story of Hogan’s Alley, a Black, Indigenous, South Asian, Chinese, Italian, and Japanese area that was razed to build the Georgia Viaduct in the 1970s. Totally erased from the intersection of Union and Main, it’s an elusive place to locate in history—slipped between the fissures of public memory, civic historiography, partial archives, and community imagination. In response to this absence, I’ve been collecting personal stories related to the neighborhood, while dreaming up potential artworks to commemorate its presence.
As I move into the next phase of design and installation, I would like to thank the following folks who’ve been instrumental in making all this research happen—I’m so excited for what we dream up next together: Djaka and Aisha from Hogan’s Alley Society; Krystal from Vancouver Public Art; Vanessa from the City of Vancouver, Kwi and David from UBC’s Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre; Jesse from 221A; Damara from Museum of Anthropology; Willian and Jaspar from the City of Vancouver plaza team; Andrew from Atmospheric Perspective; Vivian and Wendy from the Museum of Vancouver; Anthonia from Ethos Lab; and so many more.
In my pursuit to collect and preserve oral histories, I also thank Candace, Susan, and Valerie for opening yourself up to a total stranger—and my friend Mara for all our special conversations over super yummy homecooked food. Big shout out to the brilliant minds at the Vancouver Biennale and my bestie Rakan, for making all these renders looks so darn good.
