At one point or another we all wonder how other people live. Whether it be a cop, a graffiti artist, or a prostitute, we’re all curious as to what others’ lives are like. The Human Library, taking place at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, allows us to glimpse into the lives of others and see a different perspective on being. In the Human Library, the “books” are actually people.
“The concept can be applicable to different kinds of situations; with ours in particular we wanted to focus on the diversity of the Victoria community and accessing people who you may not encounter in your day-to-day life,” says Tania Muir, coordinator of The Human Library. “There are going to be some books from the homeless community, and PEERS, which is the prostitute empowerment resource centre.”
The exhibition offers up self-portraits of a different sense. Instead of being hung on a wall and analyzed, these are real people sharing their experiences and stories in one-on-one conversations. The idea is to open our eyes to alternate views and reconsider stereotypes by connecting a life to the judgment, therefore personalizing it.
“Just having that chance to sit down and pose any questions that may have arisen… many of the people live their lives with different types of social or cultural stereotypes. Through these kinds of dialogues we can break down a lot of those assumptions that may be associated with that particular cultural identity or sociopolitical group,” says Muir.
The Human Library will be running in conjunction with the gallery’s Beyond Likeness exhibition, which explores human portraiture and challenges visitors to assess their views of others and question how they would choose to project their own identity. Where portraits are left up to interpretation, the ‘books’ in the Human Library are able to explain their character in an open space to question and learn.
“How do we represent identity? What kind of stereotypes and assumptions are they around different types of identities and personas? A lot of the artists in this exhibition are playing with those different ideas and kind of unpacking them; finding different ways to represent identity,” explains Muir. “These individuals within our community will provide service portraits representing types of communities and different ways that they choose to represent themselves and also stereotypes that are imposed upon them; you’ll see many of the artists explore those ideas, too. “
By having a conversation with a member of the community who might not be approachable or available in natural settings our eyes are opened to new ways of existing, according to Muir. With a variety of ‘books’ to choose from, a great amount of knowledge will be shared.
“We do have an urban planner, we have a Zen monk, a graffiti artist,” says Muir, “and a Muslim artist who is constantly combating questions about their response to 9/11.”
The Human Library
November 3, 1-4 pm
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, free but reservation required
aggv.ca