Counter Collections: Dialogues Between Urban Space and Archives

By Fernando Ferreira

How art and curatorship can rewrite the stories of medium-size cities, embracing their complexities and contradictions

Published with Faz Cultura/Space Transcribers.

Departing from the Counter-Kiosk artistic project, developed in Braga--a medium-size city in Portugal--Counter-Collections encourages critical reflection, both locally and globally, on how five overlooked community-based collections and untold stories can be artistically uncovered, reinterpreted and displayed. This bilingual (English/Portuguese) book brings together a diverse, global network of thinkers, writers, activists, artists, curators and spatial practitioners from fields as varied as architecture, ecology, LGBTQIA+ rights, Roma heritage and postcolonial studies. It examines how neglected urban spaces--such as kiosks and other abandoned areas--can be reclaimed and redefined as dynamic, decentralized exhibition spaces that engage the public, spark dialogue and provoke novel ways of thinking about concepts of urban collection, memory and the politics of space.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9493382044
• ISBN13: 9789493382046
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Onomatopee
• Length: 530 Pages