The project involves the participation of several work-study students employed at the Museum. The artist has asked these students for responses to the following question:

"If you were to be paid to engage in a leisure activity that you have not had the opportunity to occupy yourself with at school, what would it be?"

During the exhibition, the participating students have been asked to engage in the activities of their choice during the hours they would normally be working at the museum. The artist will compensate the students as they normally would be as employees.

The following is a series of discussions with the participating students concerning their thoughts about 'free time' and 'work time'.

Andrea Innis
Chosen activity: jogging

What is your definition of leisure?
It should be something that you don't get paid for, and that you enjoy doing. You could enjoy doing work, but you get paid for it.

How much of your day is devoted to leisure time?
On an average weekday? An hour or two watching TV before I go to sleep and that's about it. Maybe going on my computer or something. That's about it.

What are some favorite leisure activities?
I like watching TV... something I don't do a lot that I would like to do is go running. I used to run in high school, but it's something I don't do a lot since I've been here.

Are you involved in programs here?
No not at all. I would like to do that. I just don't have the time for it.

Are there some things that you do for free that you think you should be paid for?
I guess it would be something that I had a talent for. If someone plays basketball in their leisure time and they're good at it then they should get paid for it.

Are there some forms of work that you think people shouldn't get paid for?
People get a little bit too much money for playing sports. Just a little bit too much. I don't think they should get paid so much for doing that. Because it's a leisure activity I think. It's not that important, it's not really helping anybody playing basketball or football or something.

Do you think there is a difference between leisure and laziness?
I would think so. Watching TV, that's lazy.

Is there one that is maybe better or worse than the other?
Laziness is definitely worse.

What do you think the problem with laziness is? Why do people get so angry about laziness?
Because you're doing nothing! People think you should be doing something all the time. It's just a waste of time.

What would your ideal job be?
Doing something that I like. Something that I don't have to bring home. I leave work and I go back to it when I go back to work. Being a teacher sometimes you have to go home and make lesson plans - I don't want to do that. I don't want to think about work when I go home.

What about being a Hollywood actor or something like that?
That's great, but I still think that they get a little too much money. That's a good job, but it's too much traveling, I'd rather be just working 9 to 5 I think.

Do you think that schools can be tuition free?
Not college. Of course high school is free. It should be a little bit more with the room and board. Unless it's going to be a college like high school you just go to school and go back home. But right now it's impossible.

Megan Keefe
Chosen activity:

What is your definition of leisure?
Something that you do for fun, something that you would do without being paid. Something that you enjoy doing.

If you were to be paid for it, would it still be leisure? Or would it be a job?
It would be a fun job. [laughs] It would be would be something that you want to do, but if it were a regiment and you had to do it for two hours than I guess it would be some sort of a work type atmosphere.

What are some of your favorite leisure activities?
I watch a lot of TV and I read a lot. I like to go out with a bunch of my friends every so often. I like hanging out a lot. Like anyone else. I'm pretty low key. I sing a lot, but I don't collect stamps or anything. I read a lot.

Are there some things that you do for free that you think you should be paid for?
Cleaning my suite. I live in the dorms. There are six girls and I'm the only one who cleans it. I feel like I should be compensated for that.

Do you think people should be paid for housework?
I think people should be paid for housework. Sometimes it's harder work than actually going out and getting a job. If you are at home and you clean and scrub and take care of things, you're as tired if not more by the end of the day than getting a job.

What would you say the difference is between being leisurely and being lazy?
Leisure is the kind of thing that you do to take time off from your regular life. You know you'll work all day, and you have about a half hour forty-five minutes a day when you have something that you want to do. Being lazy is when you do absolutely nothing all day. You just sit there, you're not taking off time from anything.

Do you think that one is worse than the other?
No. I'm an incredibly lazy person. It's a very good quality that I have! [laughs] I think that neither of them are worse than the other. I think if you are lazy all the time, then yes there is a problem. But other than that... There are days when I don't mind being lazy. There's no problem with that. I'm all for that.

Why do you think there is such a stigma around being lazy?
Because we live in such a fast-paced society were you have to go to work. You have to do this and you have to do that. If somebody is not doing any of that and is just relaxing and sitting around and just doing nothing, there's that stigma because everybody is doing the opposite of that. That's why there's that stigma.

Do you think that schools can be tuition free?
I don't know if it is possible for them to be free, but I can definitely see it as being possible for them to not cost as much. I think there is a problem for people who have millions of dollars to realize that $4,000 dollars a year is a lot of money. It aggravates me when they think they can raise prices $500 or $600 a year or $1000 dollars a year. Some people like me, I don't know where that money is coming from. If community colleges can get away with charging so much less, why is it so different for a state college? And there is that stigma that follows if you go to a community college: you know you want to stay home, you're a loser. Especially in my town.

Carla Innis
Chosen activity: working out

What is your definition of leisure?
Doing something you like on your own time. Without the restraints of any responsibility. Without a necessary goal. You just do it to have fun.

What are some favorite leisure activities?
Doing anything with friends. Work out, go running. I like doing a lot of artistic things: going to museums, going to galleries. Walking around cities, going shop ping.

Are there some things that you do for free that you think you should be paid for?
Well I guess I don't mind doing anything that is leisure oriented, so I don't feel that I should be paid for it. If I were to be paid for anything that I did in my own time, I'd probably make the most money doing something like working out. I like to do that a lot. I find a spend a lot of the time working or going to class or studying, so if I'm not doing that on the weekends I'll go out. But during the week I spend more time working out.

Are there some jobs that people should not be paid for?
I think everyone deserves money for the jobs that they do, if they go to work and they put in the effort. There are certain business jobs, like working on the stock market... it doesn't seem that people need much of an education to go into that, sometimes it seems unfair that they would make so much more money than a teacher.

What do you think the difference is between being leisurely and being lazy?
I don't really like laziness, I try and avoid it a lot. I think being leisurely is a more constructive way to so spend your time, more practical I guess. Everyone has to be lazy sometimes, but being lazy too often is kind of like wasting your life. You're not really putting your abilities to use in any way.

When you're lazy, what do you do? Do you try to become active in some way?
Usually when I'm lazy it's because I'm procrastinating. When I'm being leisurely I'm doing something that I want to, and I don't feel like I have to avoid anything. Usually laziness is kind of a mood for me. It's something that I fall into.

Do you think it is possible for schools to be tuition free?
I think it is. I guess I may not know enough about what goes on in the government to definitely answer that, but I think that there are a lot of things in society that are wasteful. Too much money goes to things like media and advertisements.

Donald Rains
Chosen activity: playing the guitar

What is your definition of leisure?
My definition of leisure is anything that is recreational, that's a kind of free will kind of thing, not something that you feel you have to do - well, sometimes you feel that you have to have leisure time I guess, but something... that you feel you want to do rather than you have to do. Something like playing a chess game could be leisure, sometimes even working could be leisure if you feel this is something you want to do voluntarily.

What are some of your favorite leisure activities?
Since I was in high school, since I was younger than high school, I've always loved music, I've always loved performance. So now I'm learning to play guitar. Hanging out with my girlfriend is definitely one of my leisure activities. Playing around with my computer, hardware configurations, not too much the software stuff. I love finding out how my computer works.

Are there some jobs that people should not be paid for?
Yeah. Again, I can't think of anything off-hand... I got introduced to someone who sort of travels around and just researches information, but it was such a fun way of doing it. I'm just like: man, I want that job! Free traveling, paid expenses, that's cool. But I can understand the bad part though, because you never get any commitment or any foundation because you're always moving around.

What do you think the difference is between being leisurely and being lazy?
I think laziness is in the realm of neglecting your responsibilities. You can be lazy when you are working. You can be lazy when you are not working. But leisurely is something... well I guess in a sense you can be leisurely when you are working. Maybe it is more of an effort or commitment that you give, even though you are doing something leisurely, that you wouldn't give if you were being lazy. If you're lazy you would have a nonchalant attitude. If you are doing something leisurely, even if it is something that you do and enjoy, you are not being nonchalant about it. You are putting a conscious effort into achieving something.

Why do you think there is such a stigma around being lazy?
I think everyone who stigmatizes laziness has a little bit of this communist attitude that you should be working, everybody should be doing something to benefit the whole of society. If you're not doing it, you are in a sense an obstruction to development. People say: "Well if I work why can't you work too?". They don't want to see anybody not doing anything at all and just getting by.

Do you think that schools can be tuition free?
No. I think it could be possible if you raise taxes more, and then you get that to pay. I don't think it should be. I'm the first person in my family who has ever gone to college through my junior year with the expectation of graduating. One of the reasons why is because a lot of people can't afford to go to college. I know that is the reason why that holds some people back from college. I still don't think it should be free because the price tag for college is necessary to get a lot of resources that you probably wouldn't get.