There are no absolute rules. The Exchange is an experiment and, as such, will be whatever the participants collectively make it. An invitation is extended to everyone to participate, but the exchange only perpetuates if people engage in its proposition with generosity, an open mind and a willingness to enter into the spirit of the adventure.

There are 4 stages to the process. These stages are known as The Rules:

01 PARTICIPATE
First, select something to donate to The Exchange. This can be anything – a CD, a book, a poem, a musical score, a film, a song etc. It must be something that has positively influenced the way you think; something that has affected the person you are and the way you do what you do. In short, it's crucial that you choose something that has, in some way, changed your life.

02 INFLUENCE
Use the back page of the leaflet provided at The Exchange and around Derry to write a description of how the item has inspired you, what it has meant to you and how your life has changed because of it. You can also download and print your own copy of the leaflet here. If there is an anecdote attached to the role it has played in your evolution, please share it. This is an opportunity to participate in educating and influencing someone unknown to you, with the possibility that the understanding and significance this thing has had for you might perpetuate and perhaps replicate in another person. Attach the completed form to your object.

Download a copy of the leaflet and form

03 EXCHANGE
Take your object to Context Galleries, The Playhouse, 5-7 Artillery Street, Derry sometime before 9th July 2005. Place it on the shelves of The Exchange and select an item to take away with you. Before making a choice try to open yourself to the potential of something you're not already familiar with. Keep firmly in mind that every single item has changed someone's life. Open yourself to the possibility that held within it could be the trace of something that could have the power to influence your personal evolution in some way. Make your choice on instinct, try to surprise yourself and challenge your assumptions. Log the item on the inventory next to the shelves of The Exchange.

04 EVOLVE
Engage with the item you have selected. Enjoy it. Read the message with it – try to understand and appreciate the idea and the importance it embodied for the other person. Introduce it into your life with an open mind and allow it to influence you. Participate in the exchange on as many occasions as you wish. You are welcome to exchange more than one item each time. You are not being monitored, so if you choose to get involved please participate responsibly and generously. Each contributor plays a critical role in the continued potential for The Exchange to evolve. It is what you make it. Change your life.