IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MERCANTILE LIBRARY | CAC COMMISSION

WORLD PREMIERE

Special Collections: Reflections on the Mercantile Library (2022), an unorthodox audio tour of Cincinnati’s famed Mercantile Library, takes listeners on a contemplative journey through the institution’s collection. Focused through an anthropological lens and presented in the form of an audiobook, this piece surveys the human epoch—from the myths of our creation to the realities of our impending demise. Couched within this investigation is an acknowledgment of the most significant mark humanity will leave behind: our collective knowledge. 

Special Collections: Reflections on the Mercantile Library explores the notion of an ideal standard by which cultural products are measured, valued, and conserved. It examines the objects and ideas we decide to canonize, the injustices that often impact these decisions, and our inventions of preservation that will ultimately lead to our destruction. Utilizing the library as a mirror, we can see ourselves within the fruits of our labor and curiously ask in the manner of Paul Gauguin, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (1897-98).

Location: The Mercantile Library

Duration: 25 mins

Time: APRIL 6 – 8 / 10:00AM – 5:30PM

APRIL 9 / 10:00-3:00PM

Concept, text, and sound: Britni Bicknaver

Text editor: CM Turner

Special Collections: Reflections on the Mercantile Library is commissioned by the Contemporary Arts Center and the Mercantile Library

*Personal cell phone and personal headphones will be needed to experience this event.

Ticket purchase for this event is only available online or @ the Contemporary Arts Center.

PROOF OF VACCINATION IS NEEDED FOR THIS EVENT

For more info about valid forms of proof of vaccination contact info@mercantilelibrary.com/ 513-621-0717