Collecting Otherwise
Drawing on the architecture collection under the Nieuwe Instituut’s management, Collecting Otherwise explores the possibilities for an alternative architectural, heritage and archival practice, one that reflects a society that is constantly changing. Following the previous editions Seen/Unseen (2021) and Post/De/Colonial (2022), 2023 is dedicated to The Tool Shed – the resources that can help to develop new ways of acquiring, classifying and exhibiting heritage.
Collecting Otherwise advises on the development of the collection policy on the basis of a series of archives that are either already part of the collection or that are yet to be acquired. This project is in line with Het Nieuwe Instituut’s ambition to not only make visible the potential of its rich collection, but also to identify the gaps it contains, in order to recognise actors and practices that were excluded on the basis of, for example, historical collection policy.
In the course of the multi-year trajectory during which Collecting Otherwise is taking shape, participants work within annually changing ‘iterations’. For each year, a thematic approach determines the focus of the ongoing research.
The Tool Shed Borrowing, Maintaining, Shedding
In 2024, the Collecting Otherwise Tool Shed continues its mission to learn about and share new tools for collaborative archival practice. This year’s focus is on the iterative, collaborative enactment of these tools.
➝ Read moreThe Tool Shed
This third edition will collectively test the tools and methods developed so far, drawing on case studies from the earlier versions, Seen/Unseen and Post/De/Colonial. The Tool Shed distributes resources to archival communities for researching and developing reparative archival methods and collections.
➝ Read morePost/De/Colonial
In 2022, Collecting Otherwise explores strategies for resituating colonial heritage and retooling archival processes dealing with such heritages, departing from case studies in the National Collection of Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning at Het Nieuwe Instituut.
➝ Read. moreSeen/Unseen
In 2020-2021, under the heading Seen/Unseen, the National Collection was viewed from an intersectional-feminist and (gender)queer perspective. Existing, rediscovered archives and new acquisitions were examined with extra attention to the different roles assigned to female, queer and Black bodies and bodies of colour in the sub-archives of the National Collection.
➝ Read more