WRECK CITY
an epilogue for 809
April 19-27, 2013
In April 2013, WRECK CITY organized WRECK CITY: An Epilogue for 809, a community‐based art experiment transforming 9 houses, 3 garages, and a greenhouse scheduled for demolition into temporary art, installation, and performance spaces. 150+ artists, musicians, and performers participated, creating a chaotic and engaging exhibition made possible only by the freedom of working inside houses soon to be destroyed.
In September 2013, PHANTOM WING re-imagined the soon to be demolished 1960s wing of the historic King Edward School. Artists and performers took up temporary residence within the abandoned wing, creating infestations, psychedelic portals, fire-bell installations, intercom performances, and more! PHANTOM WING proposed the creation of an architectural phantom limb – an event designed to resonate long after the building was severed from its adjoining sandstone counterpart.
In June 2015, DEMO TAPE invaded the old Penguin Car Wash. Presented in conjunction with Sled Island Music & Arts Festival, artists were free to alter spaces within this raw, utilitarian, and malleable context (not unlike a garage jam-space), empowered by the understanding that their work would eventually be destroyed along with the surrounding building.
From July 27th - August 12, 2018, artists from across North America exhibited the results from the first WRECK CITY Residency, a multi-venue exhibition occupying four sites across Calgary: HOUSE CITY, OLD CITY, RADIO CITY, and OFFICE CITY. Geographically and conceptually diverse, the WRECK CITY Residency invited artists to respond site-specifically to each venue, creating a treasure hunt of experiences for viewers to find and explore.