During an intervention of ‘desire lines’ at the ferry terminal in Calais, I came across the words “I wish for the future”, written down on a guardrail at the end of a cul-de-sac. These words struck me like a scream and made me think: ‘for what future do I want to work?’ Based on the conviction that human beings can play a role as artists, just as an organ in the body is vital, I developed my practice. The artist as an organ of the body that is society. Using encounters as a starting point, my interventions create openings in the conditioned fence through which the imagination gains space to alternatives. Artistic gestures that make tangible what remains invisible due to dominant forms of power. In living together, the question “For what future do I want to work?” forces the question “For whom do I want to work?”.

Right now, I have unfolded my tent and set it up inside the showcase of BNA-BBOT. My nomadic practice finds temporary shelter there and this at the art organisation’s request to curate the 2023-2024 season. From my practice, of which some elements of ‘desire lines’ are present in the showcase, I engage in dialogue with other artists, researchers and philosophers. Visitors are invited to my tent to follow these developments while I sonically search for testimonies that guide me through the city of Brussels.

As a curator, I look around me with the same gaze that I have developed in my art practice. In the role of curator, I ask myself what an art institution can do, if the word ‘cura’ literally means ‘to care for’? What should the role of a house be, when the public outdoor sphere is shaped by racist discourse and fake news? When information deviates from our reality what future do we face? Focusing on hard facts and precarious testimonies, Bridges makes itself visible in a sea of disinformation. Using the microphone as a tool, stripped of visual form elements, makes hearing become the focus of attention. From the voice, precarious witnesses become palpable all the way to the body, society.

During the cultural season 2023-2024, the Post-Collective is invited, to contribute sonic
stories to the institution’s programme ́ Narrating Diversity ́ and Brussels’ sound archive. The Post
Collective is composed out of people who share the joy and power of collective work, it ́ s a
autonomous platform for co-creation, co-learning and cultural activism.

Walking inside the pro-Palestinian manifestation of Sunday 22 October, our being together in a
common desire resonated with the voices that surrounded us. Rarely one hears in everyday life, the
intermingling of mismatched sounds as a transformative roar. The voices resounding in the European
headquarters in Brussels are those that we usually hear screaming on our screens during the daily
newsflaches, representing `the powerlessness ́ of the oppressed. At the Schumann square, we walk
together with those who seek to empower themselves by amplifed voices and stories we like to
share.

As Hannah Arendt explains: Stories do not just show who we are but also what we have in common
with others; not just who we think we are but also what shared circumstances shape our lives and
our interdependent destinies.

As part of our work within BBOT, we the Post-Collective will share on 11 November our common story
and the experience of working within the landscape of Art institutions. This experience and ongoing
reflection are formalised into a working document the Paperless Art Alliance Contract (PAACT), with
is a set of mutually agreed conditions from which we would like to work – within and beyond the
collective. We invite you to enter our common space and contribute to this reflection by sharing
yours.

The working group of The Post Collective are: Taziri Al Omrani, Fareed Aziz, Marcus Bergner,
Maarten De Vrieze, Firewyni Getahun, Sawsan Maher, Hanan Maher, Mirra Markha ë va, Golnesa
Rezanezhad, Lazara Rosell, Elli Vassalou and Souheila Yildiz.

“The voice does not mask… It communicates the uniqueness of the one who emits it, and can be
recognised by those to whom one speaks”

Adriana Caverero