You’ll need no quarters, but you’ll need your skills at the new ‘Good Job Arcade’ exhibit at the Swift Current Art Gallery.
Produced by Teresa Tam, the display of custom arcade machines will be some hands-on artwork that people can interact with. The idea is to not only stimulate the artistic senses but to engage people in the medium as well.
Luke Maddaford, curator of exhibitions and programming for the Swift Current Art Gallery, loves the idea that people get to touch this art, which is a very big exception to the norm at the gallery.
“Teresa and her team have made these arcade games playable,” said Maddaford. “So people will be able to come to the gallery and play with the art.
“Which is something that doesn’t happen a lot here.”
Good Job Arcade is described to “utilize work and play to explore themes of asynchronicity experienced by some diaspora individuals and communities that form into nostalgia”. Similar to how kids who watch older shows, or even newer ones set in an era before they were born, can appreciate the sense of nostalgia generated by the setting. This work looks to emulate if not outright cause that effect.
The display will be open from Jan. 24, 2025, with people of all ages encouraged to come out and experience art in a way exempt from the barriers of standard display pieces.
“It really is leaning into the play aspect of art and entertainment,” said Maddaford. “It’s nice to look at things, but it’s also nice to interact with things.”
The display will continue to be open to the public until Mar. 29, 2025.