Wanted: Crazy ideas to use space

Space. That one simple word conjures a realm of infinite possibilities, unfulfilled potential and prospective adventures.

A collaboration between the nomadic cultural and social enterprise Post-Museum and the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) at Gillman Barracks hopes to explore that notion with More Than [Show] Business - Post-PopUp.

The project involves challenging members of the public by giving them carte blanche to decide what they want to do with one particular space - a low-slung, white-walled building in Gillman Barracks, at Block 38 Malan Road, which is part of CCA's premises. An eye-catching neon red sign hung outside welcomes visitors, an artefact from Post-Museum's 2011 days in Rowell Road.

From now till Friday, four curators - two from Post-Museum and two from CCA - will be accepting proposals from individuals and groups on how to use the space.

Co-founder of Post-Museum Woon Tien Wei says: "The question is, how do you create creative spaces? We want to activate people's imagination about how they live. That's the key point... We're trying to get people to create the events they want to see and do what they feel they want to do."

Post-Museum was founded in 2007 by Mr Woon and Ms Jennifer Teo, and runs art and social projects such as Awaken The Dragon, in which they fired up one of the last two dragon kilns here last year, and walking tours to Bukit Brown Heritage Park.

CCA, which was set up in October last year, aims to be a hub for art and research in the region. It is run by the Nanyang Technological University.

After a selection process based on the project's ability to generate discussion and ideas, as well as how the projects will fit together, the partners will put chosen projects into practice from this month.

So far, they have received about 20 proposals and, aside from the usual exhibitions and talks, Mr Woon says there are also some "crazy ideas".

"Some people have suggested a singles' night or a barbecue. We're not putting a lot of thought into the ideas yet - we're just collecting them. We don't want to have a fixed format. We're testing ourselves and the public's imagination of what can be done with an open, free space."

The first event at Post-PopUp, a talk organised by the curators, was held last month on June 13. In Talk 1: Wildlife, three presenters - an anthropologist, bird enthusiast and ship crew member - spoke about humans' relationship with wildlife.

The centre's curator for exhibitions Anca Rujoiu says more than 100 people attended the free talk. "We were surprised to have such a diverse audience, from art people to grassroots activists, people who might not normally come to Gillman Barracks. It brought a different energy to the place."

The collaboration also benefits from cross- cultural influence, as Ms Rujoiu is from Romania and CCA's curator for residencies Vera Mey hails from New Zealand. They both moved here less than a year ago. Ms Teo, Post-Museum's co- founder, says "having curators from overseas bringsdifferent and interesting perspectives".

Meanwhile, Ms Rujoiu is delighted with the way the project has gone so far. "The project with Post-Museum started organically. We should always leave ourselves room for spontaneous gestures. It's important for a healthy institution to combine planning with unplanning and, for CCA, we should keep ourselves open to be able to respond when the opportunities arise."

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MORE THAN [SHOW] BUSINESS: POST-POPUP AT CCA

Where: Studio 01-07, Block 38 Malan Road, Gillman Barracks

When: Till Oct 1

Info: postmuseum. wordpress.com

This article was first published on July 1, 2014.
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