After spending time on site and discussing the perceived barriers/difficulties that audiences may have with a changing programme of contemporary art, Colab settled upon the concept of Nottingham Contemporary being a ‘Container of Ideas’ – to reflect its constantly evolving nature. We created an intervention on the periphery of the site - a market stall inviting passersby to enter into a dialogue with us about the subject of ‘Time’.

'Time' was chosen for the following reasons:    
    The Gallery is located in the vicinity of one of the main shopping areas in Nottingham and is surrounded by bars, restaurants and offices.    
    Therefore time is mainly production and consumption and people tend to be ‘time poor’.    
    Time is an essential factor in how we experience art.

At the ‘Time Exchange’ people were asked to fill in a card with the following questions:      
    How much time would you like?      
    What is it worth?      
    What would you do with it?
The responses ranged from turning the clock back in regret to being able to view all that was happening in the world simultaneously for one minute. It was important that everyone was involved in a dialogue with an emphasis on open-ended discussion.

We were overwhelmed by how everyone rose to the challenge, shared their ideas and expanded our notion of ‘Time’ with wit, imagination and knowledge. The comments were collected and displayed alongside the cards on the hoardings that surround the Nottingham Contemporary construction ‘site’. In order to provoke further discussion from passersby – looking forward to the possibilities in store on the completion of the building in 2009.