I wish the BBC allowed embedding of their web article videos. Anyway, go here and watch the video of art graduates Sam Aldridge and Paula Morison’s plan to turn a small hole in the wall into a space to exhibit art.

Sam does seem nervous with a camera in his face, and does focus on the “space for art” explanation that seems to get lukewarm responses from the passersby, but I think this is a champion project. 

Now, in it current state (and reasoning), the project fits into the genre of “street art”/”public art”. There are just two small details that would turn this into Grade A Museum Expansionism

1) Obviously, the theme. Change the focus from a mini site-specific installation art gallery to a museum micro-exhibition. It seems that the current plan is for artists to create new works of art to fit in the hole. The only difference is that any object (that fits) could be placed in there. I suppose a creative/artist curator would have the licence to find all kinds of interesting ways to display objects. Also, QR Codes, Bluetooth, short-range radio transmitters? Would all go a treat in something like this.

2) It’s when Sam says he’s looking at other spaces all over the city that is so interesting. Let’s imagine the project is successful and all kinds of small otherwise useless places like this are found and turned into displays (artist’s work or otherwise). This is when it stop being street/public art, yes? I realise the next point is debatable, but I’m going to run with it anyway. Street/Public art is the prerogative of the artist. Artist sees space, artist fills space. What Sam and Paula become at this point are curators. They find the display space  on the streets across the city and control the ouput. Yes, yes, they’re not doing proper museumy things like collection management or environmental conservation, but those aspect can be added later. Sam and Paula become Metrocurators.

(I almost made this concept a homage to Warren Ellis by calling it Transmetrocurators)

Now, here’s the exciting bit. Just as Sam says, he’s just a recent graduate, looking for spaces. He isn’t made of money, he’s not doing this attached to a institution like a gallery or a museum. This is the guerrilla tactics of the Metrocurator. Small, streamlined, low-cost and high impact. This guy got on the BBC News (and here!) and he didn’t need a big organisation behind him to do it. 

This kind of on-the-city-street mini exhibition space need a term of its own. It has to describe being a museum, being small, being inside nooks and crannies and being on a city street… Alcoveum? What do you suggest?