Barter Outlet
We are pleased to announce Barter Outlet, a pop up exhibition at the newly opened Piggy Cafe in the Billingsgate Fish Market to celebrate its community bonding and collective memory. It is an extension of the 2 years community-led ‘Barter Archive’ constructed by the artist Pat Wingshan Wong, by using her observational drawings in exchange for the memorable fishmongers’ objects, including the porter badge, shark skeleton, working jackets, etc. Bartering activities will organically and iteratively take place throughout the exhibition. At the opening reception, it will engage with a wide range of activities and performances designed together by the artist Pat Wingshan Wong and the fishmongers.
The exhibition will feature the artist’s 70 observational sketches of the happenings in the market. It invites the audience to exchange their memories of the Billingsgate Fish Market with the sketches on display. The public activities include oyster olympics challenge, video installations, performances initiated and led by the fishmongers. It re-stages the tradition of the Billingsgate Fish Market and recalls its collective memory. While highlighting the fact that the market will be relocated to Dagenham in the next five years, it also explores the relationships between the artist and the fishmongers as well as the public.
The pop up exhibition brings different personalities of the fishmongers into a space, showcasing the multiple voices and diverse cultures within the market. Transforming the working space into an exhibition with performances, the artist sees the performance as part of their lives in the market instead of a tourist checkpoint. It invites the public to contemplate the significance of the space and work together to create narratives at the intersection of events and documents.
Barter Outlet By Pat Wingshan Wong
Outlet Trading Hours: 22Jun - 6 Jul 2021 (8:30 - 10:30 A.M.)
Outlet Open House: Tuesday, 22 June 2021 (8:30 - 10:30 A.M.)
Piggy Cafe, Billingsgate Fish Market, E14 5ST
Artist & Exhibition Co-curator: Pat Wingshan Wong
Exhibition Co-curator & PR: Wan Yi Sandra Lam (MA curation, Goldsmith alumni)
Creative Technologist: Kachi Chan (March interactive architecture, Barlett UCL)
Documentation: Jimmi Ho (MA photography, RCA)
Content Editor: Vivien Chan (MA Design History, RCA alumni)
Web Designer: Max Albert Kohler (MA Viscom, RCA alumni)
Exhibition Design & Art direction: Robert & Mia @Europa (MA Viscom, RCA alumni & tutor of Camberwell College of Arts)
Funding: Art Council of England & Varley Memorial Award 2020
Institutional Partners: Tower Hamlets Council Arts, Parks and Events Team & Canary Wharf Group