Icebox Project Space transforms into a micro mall through November 15

Activations are all over the city and at one point this October, I found myself at the Icebox Mall. Just as Beyonce was at one point Sasha Fierce and Prince a symbol, the Icebox Project Space—an art gallery off N. American and W. Master—is a mall from now until November 15. I spoke with Timothy Belknap who runs Icebox Project Space, He is also the designer/builder of Icebox Mall, and visionary behind Video Collection and Resource (VCR), a lending library of experimental, independent, non-streamable, and locally produced films.

Belknap was brought in one year ago to design the Collective Futures project. The challenge was coming up with something that could accommodate multiple distinctive styles. He landed on the architecture of a mall.

“[It is] a weird communal action,” Belknap said. “I’ve sat next to so many strangers at a mall.”

The Icebox Mall holds multiple artist collectives working in different mediums. For instance, the Da Vinci Art Alliance explores the price of repair and defining goodness through the multi-media exhibition W(hite) Women. Then take Errata Projects, which screens an experimental film The land is the storm becalmed—The Cinema of Hussein Shariffe about Sudan, and makes space for an immersive watching experience by placing beds for audience members to lie on (feet must remain on the floor) while projecting the film on the ceiling.

Belknap referenced the archways commonly present in a mall and how that inspired him to create thresholds to step over and into for each exhibition. The Icebox mall also has many benches and couches, designed to make you slow down. Belknap has also restored a salad bar which he wheels out on Wednesdays for folks to get a free salad at the “food court” and hang out.

When asked what his favorite mall is, he spoke of what malls are becoming and that he prefers “the malls that are changing. Some of the major stores have closed and there’s more of, well, they almost feel like mom and pops or start ups.” This made me reflect on the last time I had been in a mall and had gone into shops such as these; distinct spaces full of things that the owner loves.

“People’s dream space,” as Belknap describes it.

VCR is an extension of that idea and Belknap’s dream space. Sourced from his personal collections, donations from the growing list members, and archives from organizations in the city, VCR is a living archive, a resource to artists, and a contribution to the ecosystem of artist-led initiatives that the Collective Futures project celebrates. Though Belknap has been there for 12 years, VCR has only been up and running since October 8, and already has more than a hundred members. It is meant to stay long after Collective Futures ends and serve as a space that can house recordings of upcoming performances as well as archival works. Membership to VCR is free and you can take out a film for two weeks at a time. So far, no one is late, and folks have already returned films and checked out more.

His vision stretches beyond the recordings in the gallery and VCR will eventually house a tech deck where artists can create their own VHS’s and DVD’s to add to VCR.

“I hope people see themselves,” Tim says.

I can’t help but reflect on the power of this; of a communal archive where the people can contribute and, ultimately, have a say in what we’d like to remember and preserve. In these times where we are battling various forms of erasure, fighting over what narratives deserve to be acknowledged, and facing violent action as a means of silencing us, VCR is a powerful space in its simplicity. It is a kind invitation to tell your story and leave it there for others.

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