I just had the most surreal experience over at the old Public Museum where sitelab has set up shop for ArtPrize. This is a building I used to visit often in my childhood. My mom liked to take me there and I had the annual school trip. I don’t think I’ve been in here since I was about 10 years old, and it has been closed to the public for most of the time while the new public museum has been open. Not only was it so strange to see that most of the things I remember about that building are still there, most of it is totally untouched. It is like a time capsule from my memory brought right back into this physical world.

I was not the only one who was feeling this way, I overheard a lot of descriptive words about other peoples’ experience, “spooky, strange, weird…” I even heard a woman say, “I’m just a little freaked out right now.”

The way the artists in this venue worked with what was already existing here is what heightens the surreality of it all. I can’t quite decide if my childhood memories made this experience more or less crazy for me. The art here is really amazing and absolutely worth looking at. This is one of 5 venues nominated for the “Best Venue” award, and I am happy to say that I agree with that whole heartedly.

I left with over 150 photos. I was there for a little over an hour. I chose just a few to show here. You really have to see this place to believe it.

Alois Kronschlaeger’s work incorporates modern sculpture into existing painted nature dioramas that were already in the museum space.

This gives a better view of the types of spaces Kronschlaeger worked with for this piece. The space shown had a ramp that allows people to walk into the diarama.

Blane De St. Croix’s work hangs from the ceiling in the main part of the museum.

This better shows the combination of use of existing space with the addition of new work.

Me with a close up of one of the numerous taxidermy animals throughout the building.

Lily Cox-Richard’s work, Strike, combines a number of lightning rods with the museum space.

This work by Complex Movement was one of my favorites. It was a pleasant surprise tucked in the back of the museum.

This work by Filippo Tagliati was really interesting. It is a combination of photographs and video. I found the photos to be really interesting to look at.

This is a close up from the ‘Not Design’ space which featured a lot of letter press.