“We perform ourselves in everyday life.”——Erving Goffman – The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

Introduction (2 minutes)

Everyday Exhibition is an online, self-paced micro-curation toolkit that invites you to slow down and rediscover the aesthetics hidden in your daily life.

Drawing from Erving Goffman, a sociologist who described everyday life as a kind of stage where we continuously present ourselves, this toolkit brings gentle attention to the small corners that quietly perform who we are.

It does not require a specific space, a tidy home, or any special tools.

It is also inspired by Hans Ulrich Obrist’s Do it, an instruction-based art project where simple written prompts become artworks through personal interpretation. In this spirit, the steps in this toolkit are open, flexible, and meant to be adapted rather than followed rigidly.

What it offers is 20 quiet minutes that belong entirely to you to observe, rearrange, imagine, or simply recall a corner of everyday life that shapes who you are.

We often assume that exhibitions happen only in museums.

But in reality, every desk, bedside table, kitchen counter, bag interior, or shoe rack you use is already a subtle exhibition—

a living display shaped through your habits, routines, and relational gestures.

These small spaces reveal your habits, emotions, rhythms, and ways of being often without your awareness.

Through this toolkit’s micro-curation process, you will:

• notice objects you have long overlooked
• rewrite the meaning of a familiar space
• experience a decentralized form of curation，meaning emerges through your choices
• or simply enjoy a quiet moment of being with yourself

You may realize that everyday life is already an exhibition, and you are both the curator and the exhibited subject.

A Corner of My Workspace © 2025 by Zhouyi Ding is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Three Participation Pathways（30 seconds）

You may freely choose the method that best fits your situation.

Path A — Real Space

Take a before photo on the spot → rearrange your chosen corner → take an after photo.

Path B — From Your Gallery

Choose an everyday-corner photo from your phone gallery → curate or re-imagine it using text or simple annotations → write an exhibition label.

Path C — Pure Imagination

No images needed → imagine one of your “everyday corners” → describe the before / after and your discoveries using text only.

📌This toolkit does not restrict where you are : home, dorm, office, classroom, anything works.

Materials Needed (30 seconds)

You only need:

• A phone or camera (to take photos)

• A small corner of your living space

• Paper and pen (optional, for reflection)

Example Walkthrough (1 minutes)

Personal Example：“Tomorrow, Briefly Arranged”

Before Photo © 2025 by Zhouyi Ding is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

                            “Before” photo

After Photo © 2025 by Zhouyi Ding is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

                             “After” photo

My Exhibition Label：

Empty hangers, undecided clothing, and accessories already hung up give “Tomorrow” a semi-complete, open-ended appearance: it is both a plan and a possibility.

Tomorrow, Briefly Arranged © 2025 by Zhouyi Ding is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

“It’s simple, right?
Just a small corner, a quiet moment, and a bit of attention.
Now it’s your turn，let’s walk through the steps together.”

Steps

Step 1: Observe (3–5 minutes)

Depending on your chosen pathway (A / B / C), begin by either:

📸observing the corner in front of you,

📱examining the photo you selected from your gallery,

📝or constructing an imagined everyday corner in your mind.

To spark your thinking, here are optional prompts you may consider.
These are inspirations，not rules, and you do not need to answer all of them:

• What is the first thing that draws your attention?

• If this were the beginning of a story, where would it start?

• What is the atmosphere or mood of this corner?

• Which objects seem to be “speaking” about you?

• If this were part of an exhibition, what might its title be?

Step 2: Curate (Rearrange) (6–8 minutes)

Continue according to the pathway you selected:

Path A · Real Space

You may:

Gently move objects, shift angles, tidy, stack, or create areas of empty space.
It does not need to become beautiful—any small change counts.

• Adjust the placement of objects

• Add a new object

• tidy, and stack

• Remove something unnecessary

• Change the lighting or camera angle

Path B · From Your Gallery

Work directly on your chosen photo. You may:

• add notes or marks

• draw frames or lines

• highlight relationships

• add text

• annotate what you wish to change

Path C · Pure Text Curation

Write two short sections:

• “Before: What did this corner originally look like?”

• “After: How would I rearrange it, and why?”

Step 3: Title & label (3–5 minutes)

Give your mini-exhibition a title.
Examples:

• The Illusion of Control

• Emotional Storage System

• Preparing for Tomorrow

• Organized Chaos

• Stillness

Ask yourself:

• What is this exhibition showing?

• What story is this space telling?

• If this were a museum display, what would the label say?

Write a small exhibition label of your own
You may write it in your notebook, on your phone, or directly in the toolkit’s comment area.

Optional prompts:

• “If my life were an exhibition, its theme would be ______.”

• “The objects here reflect my habit of ______.”

• “This corner reveals not objects, but ______.”

• “What I curate every day is survival.”

Closing Thought (30 seconds)

Everyday Exhibition is not about creating a perfect space . It’s about recognizing the quiet exhibitions already happening in our lives.
By observing, rearranging, or simply imagining a small corner, we begin to see how daily objects and habits silently shape who we are.
In this sense, curation becomes decentralized, personal, and gentle.

The exhibition is not elsewhere. It has always been right where we live.

Supplementary Reading List (Optional)

(Everyday Exhibition –Shelf of Personal Collectibles © 2025 by Zhouyi Ding is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)