1991–2004
The years between 1991—when we operated as Rogue Art—and our re-imagination as Deluge Contemporary Art in 2005 were chaotic times of experimentation and growth. Three years were spent in Market Square, one year itinerantly organizing the behemoth survey show Bumper Crop and founding Antimatter, then a decade of programming in a vast undeveloped industrial space in the upper reaches of the Eaton Centre. We organized and hosted 176 exhibitions of visual art alongside punk rock gigs, cabarets, ’zine launches, fractious literary readings, classical music recitals and international tours of media art.
With little or no financial support, these years of programming relied on the free labour and side gigs of Deluge founders, reduced or no rent, bar sales, volunteers and fundraisers for survival. Ultimately, our über-provisional existence at the mercy of market forces became untenable and in 2006, with the first infusion of limited operating funds, we moved to our current location in the former Deluge Engine Company #1, a historic building in Victoria’s downtown.
Usable documentation of these 14 frenetic and unruly years of activity is understandably incomplete, with many exhibitions and almost all events lost to time and memory/infamy. Although we remain firmly focused on evolution vs nostalgia, we offer here some images of that time.