Saint John’s Third Shift: How it’s Managed to Give Everyone Fear of Missing Out
On Friday, uptown Saint John will be reimagined by a group of local artists for what’s become a can’t-miss summer event.
Third Shift, presented by Third Space Gallery, is an outdoor art event aiming to inspire Saint John residents to reimagine the city, reclaim vacant and under-utilized areas and engage with the surroundings of the uptown core. The event does this by having local artists create different installations around the area.
The event is now in its third year and was originally inspired by similar events that are held annually in bigger cities throughout the country.
“It was really just an aspiration for us as artists here in the city to organize an event along the lines of Nocturne in Halifax or Nuit Blanche in Toronto,” says Emily Saab, executive director of Third Space Gallery. “These are events that we have been to and have gone to and inspired by. So we had all decided to make this place our home and wanted to create an event like that.”
Whether an event like this would fly in Saint John was unknown at first, but on event night in August 2015, the response was beyond what organizers expected, attracting over 1,000 people to the uptown area.
“We weren’t expecting the response it did get. We had never produced an event of that kind of public nature before. All of Third Space’s programming takes place outside a traditional gallery space. We were used to working in the public, but we didn’t expect it to be of the scale that it was. We were really excited about that,” says Saab.
“I think we realized that maybe the people of Saint John were ready for an event like that same as we were. It took off.”
As stories and photographs of the 2015 event circulated, last year’s event saw an even bigger turnout of 2,500 to 3,000 people. The one-night only event gave people a sense of urgency for people to come out because they didn’t want to miss out on the unique experience so many others had the year before.
“I think there’s the element of the unknown. I think we’re all really familiar with our uptown environment, but a lot of us work uptown or live uptown and you get used to seeing the landscape and you become used to seeing things in their certain places,’ says Saab. “Third Shift invites artists to come and create these interruptions, these installations that activate spaces in a different way. I think a lot of people come to experience that one-night-only event of the unknown and magic.”
Victoria Clarke, executive director of Discover Saint John says Third Shift has shown both residents and visitors a different side of the city and event brought some residents out who haven’t spent time in the uptown in years.
“Third Shift was a total mystery in 2015. It sounded avant-garde and perhaps a little high art for the average event-goer. But after the event, made magical with its lightly misted and foggy weather, the photos captured by local photography rock star, Mark Hemmings, of Hemmings House Pictures, we caught a glimpse of an urban city scape that we didn’t recognize and never imagined. It was our old Saint John made new. Sodded alleyways, soft-focused stringed lights – otherworldly,” says Clarke.
“After the event photos were posted by Mark and were spread throughout social media, there was a gasp from all, and a real regret, having missed out on such a delight. These photos were inspiring and the feeling they inspired most was ‘FOMO’ or Fear of Missing Out – a pretty powerful motivator.”
Saint John’s uptown has seen an increase in small business and events over the last few years. Saab says Third Shift may have played a role in changing the way people viewed the area.
“Third Shift was one of the first events to activate spaces in a way they haven’t been before through art projects. But I think we were inspired by an energy that was existing in the uptown at that time. Even if it hadn’t manifested itself into special events or festivals, we were motivated by something that was existing,” says Saab. “I think since then, whether or not it’s because of Third Shift, there’s been a lot of organizing happening … In terms of having people enjoy the uptown area, I hope maybe Third Shift played a role in that and reimagining your own landscape.”
Like most events this summer, Saab says this year’s Third Shift will have Canada’s 150th anniversary of confederation in mind. However, it will have a bit of a critical take.
“This year we’re looking to think critically about our initial objectives around reclaiming vacant spaces because this 150 anniversary of confederation had us thinking about occupancy and space and vacancy. We recognize that this region is much older than 150 years,” she says. “This year we really want to acknowledge the unceded indigenous territory that is this area and hope to provide the public with an opportunity to have a new perspective on the space and time and look forward to the future. And also to think a lot about our past as well.”