OCAD University Open Research Repository

Trance-Forming Exhibitions: Fusing contemporary art, rave culture, and nightlife

Yan, Kev (Hongye) (2025) Trance-Forming Exhibitions: Fusing contemporary art, rave culture, and nightlife. Masters thesis, OCAD University.

Item Type: Thesis
Creators: Yan, Kev (Hongye)
Abstract:

This study proposes an experimental curatorial concept that explores how the elements and culture of raves can transform art exhibitions into immersive, inclusive, and transformative experiences. It looks at how people’s individual experiences and subjectivities interact within these curated spaces. By asking what art curation can learn from rave culture—how to stage a rave-like atmosphere in an exhibition, and how a “rave sensibility” can reshape art institutions and aesthetic experiences—this study aims to create both a theoretical and practical framework for this new exhibition format. Drawing on an interdisciplinary approach, the research includes personal observations from attending raves, reviews of academic writing on rave culture and museum studies, and an analysis of three case studies featuring hybrid art-rave events. It argues that combining music, exhibition design, and technology can go beyond conventional aesthetic experiences and initiate new art movements, potentially empowering underrepresented groups and sparking renewed interest in contemporary art—especially among younger audiences. The appendix presents the lists of expenses and funding for the event, and a semiotic experiment proposal, highlighting possible ways to put these ideas into practice. Overall, this work lays a foundation for further innovation, suggesting that bringing together rave culture and art for such ephemeral autonomous events may lead the future of cultural production and curatorial practice.

Date: 28 April 2025
Uncontrolled Keywords: Rave, Nightlife, Community, Underground, Youth Culture, Relational Aesthetics, Heterotopia, Free Party, Experimental Curation, Asian Diaspora
Divisions: Graduate Studies > Criticism and Curatorial Practice
Date Deposited: 05 May 2025 15:08
Last Modified: 05 May 2025 15:08
URI: https://openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/4700

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