Anyone who ever wanted to play on a patch bay from 1908 has a chance with a new interactive art exhibit in Victoria.
The patch bay – think phone operator connecting folks in an old-time movie – is just one heritage piece turned art on display for gallery goers to touch and play with at the temporary Monkey C Interactive Gallery downtown. In the Blanshard Street Gallery a handful of interactive artworks known around the world are finally seeing the light of day in the city where they were created.
They need to be experienced to understand, according to artists Scott Amos and David Parfit the duo behind Monkey C Interactive.
“They’re these games but multi-user, playable things where you can make music with your friends,” Amos said. “This is something that’s not like anything else.”
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Among the pieces is an eight-foot, four-person arcade machine where users face each other and each arcade joystick makes a musical sound or loop. “The four of you can sit there and basically make music together,” Amos said.
Created in 2019, it’s among the pieces conceived and created in Victoria but not yet seen. This one was destined for a travelling interactive tour in the U.S. cancelled by COVID.
“That project has been sitting in a crate for four years and we got to pull it out for this,” Amos said.
The gallery also includes the prototype for the five-storey musical railings on the Bastion Square Parkade in Victoria, where sensors in the railings create sounds and play music loops with coinciding LED lighting at night.
“It’s been to a bunch of places but it’s never been seen in Victoria either,” Amos said.
The gallery started initially as a part of the Victoria Film Festival in February adjacent to a festival screening room. With an initial positive reception, they opted to extend the gallery for three more weeks.
“It’s a good low-risk way for us to see if Victoria wants to support something like this.”
The interactive art gallery is open by donation Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m. at 1205 Blanshard St. until March 10.
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