Editorial

In much of the Western world, trust in culture is wavering. Museums and cultural institutions once seen as possible vehicles for emancipatory struggle have revealed themselves to be among the main administrators of state censorship. Others have taken to silencing dissident voices within their own ranks to protect relationships with names on their donor walls or the government ministries that oversee them. However, for many cultural practitioners in the global majority, this trust has never been there, particularly when facing institutions that were imposed as part of a historical process of (neo)colonization.

Increasingly, institutional models inherited from the nineteenth century are being outgrown and revealing limitations, as evidenced by both their programming and financing. In many instances, funding is conditional, increasingly used as a tool to control narratives. Moreover, across many countries in the so-called Global South, cultural funding is simply not prioritized by politicians, and as such creative practitioners must rely on foreign sources that come with their own terms, conditions, and agendas. Far from stifling creativity, however, these discrepancies leave opportunities to challenge existing structures, and develop new forms of practice. As such, independent art spaces across the world are already well-positioned to offer a prototype for navigating the sense of mistrust that many artists may be experiencing now for the first time.

More than anything, disillusionment with both institutions and the market can bolster the importance of cultural production happening at the peripheries of what might be considered the mainstream. It is here that independent project spaces bridge a gap, connecting diverse audiences to art at a more grassroots level, bypassing the imbalanced power dynamics of outmoded institutional models. In this context, the meaning of “independence” is unique to each cultural, economic, political, and geographical context, but can encompass opposition to market forces, distance from larger cultural institutions, autonomy from state funding, and immunity to outside political influence. It is in these voids where some of the most innovative artistic production takes place.

Within independent project spaces, the lines between art institution and community center frequently dissolve. Engagement and outreach can thus be framed as a form of artistic practice in their own right, and these spaces have proven that new forms of support structures are possible where state institutions cannot be relied upon. While specific needs within any community differ, many similarities in the ways that art spaces respond to their neighborhood transcend geography. However, each serves as a reflection of their own creative landscape.

Beyond working at a hyperlocal level, independent spaces need to collaborate at regional, and at times, transnational levels, relying on a network of trusted collaborators, co-conspirators, and friends. Often, these relationships are not rigidly encoded within institutional structures, and the individuals that make up a space ebb and flow depending on the needs of a particular project. Many art spaces on the periphery can be understood as a loosely affiliated network.

Taking up space and responding directly to local needs is in itself a political act. To run a space successfully takes a degree of resilience that can only be achieved through reliance on existing community networks. But in setting up a project, new networks can also be forged. In many cases, independent artist-led projects occupy a quietly radical existence, their very presence proving precisely why culture can be so important. It is no wonder then, that systems of power consistently try to co-opt, manipulate and suppress this for political gain.

Interdependence, a collaboration between e-flux Architecture and OtherNetwork, returns, featuring contributions by Gabriela Jauregui on Aeromoto, Juan José Santos on Galería Metropolitana, Benjamin Seroussi on Casa do Povo, Dan Tran on Heritage Space, and an independent contribution by Gudskul.