League is a project led by Vancouver and Saltspring Island based artist Germaine Koh that unites creative process, play, games, and sport. Community members gather to invent new games and sports and evolve these through iterative, embodied play. Games evolve organically as they are played, with strategies emerging through trial and improvisation. Commonplace sports and play equipment, markers and everyday objects are available, and new tools sometimes invented on the fly.

For League Nanaimo, Koh will turn the Gallery into an experimental gymnasium of sorts where visitors might be moved to jump, throw, run, and touch; all actions that are usually frowned upon in art museums. In this playful installation, participants will be invited to interact with objects and markings, and with each other, following prompts to develop their own games.

The Gallery will also serve as a hub for community outreach as the artist and gallery facilitators bring League into the broader community. During the run of the exhibition, League activities will take place in Nanaimo parks, community centers, festivals, and even places where play is considered out of the ordinary. A listing of events will be available at the Gallery and regularly updated on our website and social media.

Launched by Germaine Koh in 2012, League is a sort of sandbox. Processes of learning, adapting, and iterating are central to the overall concept. The project is founded in a belief in the value of emergent behaviour, and processes of making sense of things. It views games, sport and play as serious forms of problem-finding and problem-solving.

League Nanaimo is the third exhibition through which Nanaimo Art Gallery asks the question: How can we play together?