The Community Sharing Lab is a participatory art exhibition concept designed to initiate a public conversation about sharing (objects, resources, talents, time, skills, community goodwill) and highlight the current level of human and material resource waste at local level, that could be used to build connected communities.

The Community Sharing Lab can serve as an initial project in an empty shop that could lead to the development of further community focused social spaces for sharing, learning and making.

The exhibition concept is aimed to include a range of activities and events to highlight sharing, learning and making. Some possible ideas for interactive exhibition pieces could include:

+ Equipment Sharing
A start of a managed sharing scheme...

+ Skills Inventory
A Community Skills Inventory “I can…”

+ Skills Exchange
A Skills Exchange. “I can…. And I would like to offer ? hours to help someone”

+ Art/Cultural demonstrations and workshops
Arranged by volunteers and organisers and the public.

+ Sharing Food Events
Social events such as Sharing Sunday Breakfasts and Intergenerational teas.

+ Remixing Community Models
Materials will be available for making metaphorical objects which represent ways the community can re-create new types of community with materials and resources which already exist in the community.

Please see the Power of 8 exhibition weekend for a brilliant example of this.

+ Sharing Website
An online social network could be created during the exhibition and visitors will be encouraged to join the social network on the spot. This could include further links to 'sharing circles' on Ecomodo.

+ Sharing Cultural Local Stories
Exploring the cultural life of the University through an analogue Twitter board.

+ Idea Zine
Ideas for projects in the community could be collected during the exhibition and published into a booklet or zine for distribution locally and through the new sharing online network after the exhibition.

The first Community Sharing Lab was designed at a workshop at the University of Surrey in February 2010 with a group of students for their Multicultural Commons Day on campus.

Please contact Tessy Britton for more information.