Create your auction

“#exstrange is open to engagement” was the way the project was presented in the open calls to partecipation that were sent out during the course of the live exhibition (15 January to 8 April 2017). Artists, designers, curators, and any eBay account holder could join the exhibition by creating a listing for an auction on eBay, following a set of instructions the curators’ provided— how to create and #exstrange auction. The idea behind this openness was to expand #exstrange in multiple ways and extend the exhibition beyond curatorial control. The hope was to give life to an alternative exhibition model that would supersede top-down cultural modes proposed by the museum and the gallery.

#exstrange artworks used the eBay auction as the medium itself. Rather than placing a pre-existing artwork on eBay to sell, the curators advocated to use the tools and materials of eBay to create the work. Hence, the #exstrange artworks were only complete within the e-commerce platform.