WESTERN FRONT – Shop Literati

A cylindrical plastic tower of pastel loofahs stands in the aisle of a home goods store amongst various bath and body products.

Shop Literati is a series of writing workshops led by artist-in-residence Bruno Zhu of A Maior that invites shopping lovers and haters to concoct a story together.

Through a blend of improvisation, LARPing, and speed dating, participants will collaborate on developing the characters, narrative, and setting for the next book in A Maior’s novella series Retail Vérité. The series navigates thoughts on commerce, fashion, and popular culture to draw a portrait of contemporary retail phenomena. While in residence, Zhu will refine the material generated during the workshops as a manuscript to be co-published by Western Front and Art Metropole in Fall 2025.

The workshops will be conducted in person on:

Feb 27, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Feb 28, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Mar 1, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

We welcome voice and text-curious participants to apply by emailing info@westernfront.ca with a short bio (100 words max.), confirmation of your availability, and a response to the following questionnaire:

Have you worked in retail and/or hospitality?
Have you had an awfully wonderful retail experience?
Have you wondered what’s behind the Staff Only door?
Have you struggled returning something you bought online?
Do you have epic feelings about shopping?

Priority will be granted to applicants who are available for all three sessions to a maximum of twelve participants. A light meal will be provided at each workshop.

Successful applicants will be notified by Feb 13, 2025.

The aisles of a densely merchandised home goods store are seen from above. A large gold and black vinyl star is adhered to the beige tile floors beneath a display of cabinets. The far wall is painted burgundy with a sign reading Tata Divine in white serif text.

About the Artist

Bruno Zhu works and lives between Portugal and the Netherlands. His practice employs methods that cut, stitch, and write against normative alignments of knowledge production and social reproduction. Mechanisms of desire, identity, and ideology inform Zhu’s work, in which he paraphrases agency, authorship, consumption, and power. His object-driven installations turn the audience into cultural actors who can produce their own meanings. Zhu is a member of A Maior, a curatorial program set in a home furnishings and clothing store in Viseu, Portugal.

Accessibility

The Grand Luxe Hall is located on the second floor of Western Front, which is accessed by a flight of 26 stairs. Further details about accessibility at Western Front can be found here.

Acknowledgements

Presented as part of the exhibition Wishing on My Falsies, with support from the Audain Foundation.

Image courtesy of A Maior, Viseu.

Image courtesy of A Maior, Viseu.
Image courtesy of A Maior, Viseu.

Image courtesy of A Maior, Viseu.

Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.