As the World Cup draws near with matches taking place in Toronto this summer, the Aga Khan Museum has timely launched a spring exhibition called Game On!. The exhibition is a vibrant exploration of the creativity and cultural exchange that has existed in games and sports throughout history. It thoughtfully expresses how play builds connections across (and despite) language, religious, and cultural barriers and borders.
To bring this exhibit to life, the Museum once again sought out expertise at TMU Libraries. This is the fifth collaboration that includes Library digital and physical installations, and archival materials within the historical and cultural conversations of the Museum’s exhibits.
Through this partnership, TMU Libraries continues to demonstrate how academic resources and digital innovation enhance cultural storytelling.
Immersive Technology Specialist Michael Carter-Arlt has been the Museum’s go-to immersive and digital expert at TMU Libraries. For Game On!, he was asked to work with the Museum to create two custom engagement pieces designed to challenge and intrigue visitors. They include:
- An interactive chess board designed to ask patrons to solve one of five complex chess problems.
- A “Game On” puzzle that utilizes applications originally developed for previous TMU installations.
These items were brought to life at TMU’s Design & Technology Lab using clear acrylic and advanced UltraViolet (UV) printing. Carter-Arlt worked with Adrian Kenny, Mark Francis, and Arnel Espanol at the Lab, along with students Ruslan Galimov and Nina Rastgartalab Tabrizi to fabricate pieces – a collaboration that allowed students to see their work be showcased at an internationally renowned museum.
“Working with the talented team at the Design & Technology Lab has been a pleasure,” says Carter-Arlt. “They consistently produce work of the highest quality and museum-level standards, and their collaborative approach and technical expertise play a huge role in creating engaging interactive experiences that connect visitors more deeply with the exhibition.”
To complement the physical installations, the Museum also connected with TMU Libraries’ Archivist, Tanis Franco. Included in the Game On! exhibition is a nod to a legendary 1968 performance piece titled Reunion, which took place on campus at the then Ryerson Theatre (now the Chrysalis).
Reunion was an experimental chess-based performance by composer John Cage. In it, Cage plays chess against artist Marcel Duchamp on a specialized chess board that generates electronic music based on the moves. Franco assisted the Museum’s curator by sourcing original material from the 1968 event including newspaper clippings, tickets, and advertisements from the production adding historical context to the Museum’s display of the performance.
“Reunion was one performance included in a weeklong experimental art event series called ‘SightSoundSystems’ co-organized by then-Ryerson professor, Donald Gillies. It garnered some interesting and puzzling reviews,” says Franco. “Including this performance as part of the Aga Khan Museum’s exhibit demonstrates how important documenting even a small-scale event is, as it is now known on an international scale. It also reveals that even back then,TMU was pushing the boundaries of art and expression.”
Through the fabrication of games and extensive archival research, TMU Libraries helped the Game On! exhibition showcase play as an important lens through which to communicate cultural histories. This collaboration once again highlights the role of academic libraries in providing depth to cultural narratives.