Inconvenience Store
Not your average store. A new version of the store every week, all run by different people exploring the idea of convenience and inconvenience in our cities.
Why an INconvenience store?
Convenience breeds regularity and conformity, a proliferation of the same. Even the government’s recovery plan for the central city was modelled on convenience, creating physically discrete precincts of monocultures (the innovation precinct, the performing arts precinct) in place of an integrated variety of activities everywhere. Inconvenience is a constraint and constraints make for interesting responses.
This project took over an empty shop in Cathedral Junction in central Christchurch for seven weeks. Responding to a brief, seven different shops came to life each week across the duration of the project all exploring the idea of convenience. Each shop operator was given a small artists fee to support the creation of their project.
The shops each ran for one week, open Tuesday to Sunday with Monday as changeover day. Each shop led to a range of interesting interactions with members of the public!
Creative responses
One of the best lessons Gap Filler took from the Inconvenience Store was the benefit of using a solid brief to generate creative responses. Coupled with the artist fee that we offered to support and empower people to actually say YES to this project, the constraints of the brief delivered wonderfully varied and considered responses.
Week 1: Masa Oliver – Masa’s Impossible Products
Week 2: Bridget McKendry – Bridget’s 2 Hour store
Week 3: Ryan Reynolds – Gap Filler’s Inconveneince Store
Week 4: Anita Parris & Glen Jansen – Anita’s Fine Fare
Week 5: Julia Holden & Andrew Paul Wood – Present Tense
Week 6: Rosalee Jenkin – Rosalee’s Contrary Cornucopia
Week 7: Tiina Ristola
Who, what, where, when
Date: March 4 – April 21, 2014
Locations: Cathedral Junction, City
Client/Funder: Christchurch City Council
Key people: Sally Carlton & Sandra Ledderhos, helpers for our GF week; brief help and proposal evaluation: Gaby Montejo, Rosalee Jenkin, Kaila Colbin, Greg Quinn, Jessica Halliday.
Values: Creativity, Collaboration
Support/Sponsors: Design – McCarthy; Printing – Sign Displays; Drinks – All Good Organics; Power & insurance – LIVS; free use of EFTPOS – Rebecca from Fantail Gifts; discount panel hire – Peek Displays.
