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The LAB 2.0: Retailienation

Retailienation is a show that seeks to address, in terms both critical and humurous, the role that the gift shop plays in the public gallery. These ubiquitous commercial zones, which are important revenue generators, occupy both a central place and sometimes uneasy relationship within the scholarly institutions they serve. Operating below the radar of most curatorial practice, they nonetheless influence the reception of the works displayed, from the distribution of related catalogues to the sale of merchandise that strategically reflects the imagery or era of works on show. Retalienation will attempt to reverse the equation, creating a surrogate gift shop within The LAB to reflect on the complex role of these peculiar “galleries within gallerie.”

– Christian Giroux

Retailienation is curated by the UVic Visual Arts 380 class (Curatorial Studies) taught by Christian Giroux and presented in collaboration with the Art Gallery.