Counter space

Abstract

Counter Space' is a research project inspired by reflections on the mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion in cultural institutions, challenging the perception of space as merely a neutral container or backdrop to daily activities. The project is grounded in theories by Gramsci, Lefebvre, and Mouffe, and aims to contextualize space as a tool to maintain cultural hegemony and power relationships, while exploring artistic practices to challenge hegemony in spatial contexts. In collaboration with the Unofficial Hiking Society (UHS), an organic art collective based in Basel, an intervention called 'Unofficial Kunstmuseum' was carried out to illuminate the concealed inequalities within the Kunstmuseum Basel, primarily the underrepresentation of women. This collaboration and intervention reveals the grey area where Google's and Kunstmuseum's institutional territories intersect as a fertile ground for temporary resistance, critique, and contestation, thereby creating a 'differential space' that acknowledges both individual and collective experiences.