2017 edition:

For it's 2017 edition, Unseen Amsterdam is thrilled to introduce a new, dynamic and interactive element to its platform; CO-OP, a space exclusively dedicated to the work of cutting edge, artist collectives and artist-run initiatives from all over the world. CO-OP will take place inside the Transformatorhuis at Westergasfabriek, which will be remodeled to create a lively and inspiring social hub for exploring pioneering works of art as well as experimenting with new formats of art commerce.
In an exceptional display-structure inspired by the concept of the agora? (a place of assembly in ancient Greece serving as a marketplace where both ideas and artefacts can be discussed and exchanged), thirteen international collectives, selected by the independent curator Lars Willumeit and Unseen Artistic Director Emilia van Lynden, will constitute this inaugural edition of CO-OP.
Some key qualities that identify the spirit of this innovative section of Unseen are cooperative, collaboration, and interaction: collectives are invited to exhibit their work and furthermore to set up new commercial strategies as possible ways to interact with their audience. With the cooperation of collectives and spectators, the place will become a massive meta-collective in itself.
The creation of this new element into the fair programme underlines Unseen’s engagement in stimulating collaboration between artists and the need for innovative and unconventional approaches to art commerce, in order to support more sustainable careers for artists and collectives.


Participants 2017 (22.-24.09.2017)

Britto Arts Trust (Bangladesh) / Colectivo +1 (Colombia) / Dead Darlings (The Netherlands) / DER GREIF (Germany) / GUSH (Belgium) / Huber.Huber (Switzerland) / Klara Källström + Thobias Fäldt (Sweden) / LIVE WILD (France) / Nepal Picture Library (Nepal) / POIUYT (Italy) / Radical Reversibility (The Netherlands) / Ruang MES56 (Indonesia) / Tendance Floue (France)


BRITTO ATS TRUST
Based in Dhaka, since 2002 it has been the first autonomous, artists’ led, non-profit art organisation in Bangladesh. The trust’s activity focuses on supporting experimentation and new approaches to visual arts, and setting up a large and sustainable hub for creative and interdisciplinary artworks in Bangladesh, with residencies, workshops, talks, screenings, and projects. At the CO-OP it will be exhibit the work of Munem Wasif, Najmun Nahar Keya, Shimul Saha, Manir Mrittik, and Molla Sagar.
www.brittoartstrust.org


COLECTIVO +1
Founded in 2013 by five Colombian photographers in Bogotà, the spirit of this collective is to seek out and encourage collaborations with other collectives and organisations, that it where the ‘plus one’ stands for. For CO-OP, Colectivo+1 will show “20FOTOGRAFOS”, an innovative and impactful workshop realised in Mexico in 2016 in which students have been encouraged to develop strong interpersonal and collaborative relationships working with photo editors, instructors, producers, and experts.
www.colectivomasuno.com


DEAD DARLINGS
This Dutch collective, based in Amsterdam, uses art auctions as a platform to explore the complex relationship between the artist, the artwork, and the collector, combining elements of performance and exhibition. A selection of artists is encouraged to dig in their archives searching for their “dead darling”, a work that has never come to light. The selected piece is auctioned with a low starting prices, in order “to extend the label of art collector to people who would not otherwise be able to obtain an original contemporary artwork”.
www.deaddarlings.nl


DER GREIF
This German platform embraces contemporary photography as a printed publication, a blog and a curatorial team presenting the work of photographers and authors of different origins in a holistic piece of art. Focussed on expanding the limits of image-distribution, Der Greif is involved in contemporary issues like the perception of the authorship, the recontextualisation of images and the rise of remix culture. For CO-OP they will create an interactive online and offline exhibition combining curatorial, performative and photographic practices.
www.dergreif-online.de


GUSH
Created by four international artists based in Brussels, GUSH Collective questions the idea of uniqueness and authenticity of photography in itself. For CO-OP they will build up a multilayered exhibition combining the installation of meta-photographs, an artist’s studio, catalogues and an audioguide.
www.gushcollective.com


HUBER.HUBER
The twin brothers Markus and Reto Huber have been working together under this label since 2005. Their work (collages, drawings, and sculptural installation) focusses on the relation between civilisation and nature. At CO-OP they will pursue their research with an exhibition about the ambivalent relationship of modernity with science, faith and art.
www.huberhuber.com


KLARA KÄLLSTRÖM + THOBIAS FÄLDT
Based in Stockholm, they have been working together since 2005 on themes such as depiction and perception of political events through media channels in order to draw attention to the gap between what is visible and what it told. They also have a publishing platform called
B-B-B-Books. For CO-OP they will show a new piece of work that is a continuation of the ongoing series Wikiland.
www.kk-tf.com


LIVE WILD
Seven young international female artists are the heart and soul of this French collective. Born in 2014, they break away from the scene of contemporary art with their website, collages, gif, videos and photography combining various styles with a similar aesthetic and bringing the spectator into a fairy tale world of visual imagery.
For CO-OP they will welcome the audience in an intimate space, offering a complete immersion in their visual world.
www.thelivewildcollective.com


NEPAL PICTURE LIBRARY
As a digital photo archive, its aim is to document the history of Nepali culture and society, collecting vernacular photographs and stories from the community. Since its inception in 2011, the archive has collected over 50,000 photographs from different parts of Nepal.
This year at CO-OP, the NPL will exhibit works that trace the history and evolution of the Nepali studio photography practice and where it stands today.
www.nepalpicturelibrary.org


POIUYT
Bringing together relevant exponents of the Italian contemporary photographic scene, this newborn platform questions any given reality and the unconditional acceptance of the status quo, exploring the structure and the mechanism of power and social systems. POIUYT consists of The Cool Couple, Discipula and Alessandro Sambini under the curatorial direction of Gaia Tedone and Francesca Lazzarin.
For CO-OP they will combine graphic and textual elements related to POIUYT, creating an image which elaborates the key concepts of the project.
www.poiuyt.it


RADICAL REVERSIBILITY
This newborn collective will be launch at Unseen CO-OP 2017.
As a research collective, it questions the Western lens-based culture and the anthropocentric perception of social values, trying to reverse our visual experience. Radical Reversibility consists of Martine Stig, the artistic duo Elodie Hiryczuk/Sjoerd Van Oevelen, and Frank van der Stock guesting Stephen Keppel and graphic designer Hans Gremmen.
For CO-OP it will show the work as “a floating object in reverse” in order to experiment with alternative displays, inviting the audience to exchange thoughts and ideas being an open and dynamic platform.
www.radicalreversibility.org/


RUANG MES56
Born in 2002 in the living room of the boarding house of photography art students in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Ruang MES56 is now a non-profit institution that functions as a production laboratory and ideas incubator. They work cooperatively with the community: their mission is to develop contemporary art and visual culture in the Southeast Asia region through educational programmes, workshops, residencies and interdisciplinary projects.
For CO-OP, they will exhibit a new platform combining an installation, a performance and a video battle.
www.mes56.com


TENDANCE FLOUE
Created in 1991, Tendance Floue is a French collective of fourteen photographers.
They question photojournalistic tendencies in a way to renew the field of narration. Beyond their individual approaches, the photographers have joined forces within a common book production. Their creation becomes almost a performance, comparing pictures, searching for combinations and interpreting stories in novel ways.
At Unseen CO-OP they will specifically focus on books, never exhibited together before, putting the layouts up on the wall in a lively and interactive manner and sharing it with the public.
www.tendancefloue.net



2018 edition:

We are very excited to announce the twelve collectives participating in this year’s edition of CO-OP at Unseen Amsterdam. CO-OP is entirely devoted to artist-run initiatives and collectives, enabling them to show their latest work, in dynamic presentations and new commercial formats. Recognising the significance of artists who unite to make and show work; this edition examines themes such as authorship, mass tourism, migrant stereotyping and education. Together with CO-OP’s curator Lars Willumeit, Unseen has selected twelve international collectives to launch the second edition of Unseen CO-OP.


Participants 2018 (21.-23.09.2018)

280A (Austria) / Böhm Kobayashi (Germany) / Depression Era (Greece) / Fotoromanzo Italiano (Italy) / Imagenred (Spain) / KLAYM (Ivory Coast/Switzerland) / London Alternative Photography Collective (United Kingdom) / (Music For) Eggplant (France) / Migrant Image Research Group / Tokyo Photographic Research (Japan) / Upominki (The Netherlands) / Yaounde Photo Network (Cameroon)


280A

Composed of 12 artists from several different countries, the Austrian based collective 280A discusses the significance of the collective in times of individualisation. The individual position of the artists is merged into their collective representation. They reflect on questions of authorship, creating highly fragmented works, experimenting with collages and digital photography. The group explores the concepts of sentimentality and emotionality, in times of virtualisation and reduction of surfaces.
www.280a.org


BÖHM KOBAYASHI

Created by the German artists Katja Stuke and Oliver Sieber in 2006, Böhm Kobayashi explores several photographic concepts and techniques, such as installation, video and photography books. The project Japanese Lesson started with the artists’ three months grant in Osaka, Japan (2006), where they focused on portraits of Japanese subculture and impressions of Japanese street life. Japanese Lesson reflects on the process of learning about Japanese culture, but in unconventional ways that do not necessarily involve the knowledge of Japanese language. The current chapter of Japanese Lesson deals with questions of political landscape, borders and Identity.
www.boehmkobayashi.de


DEPRESSION ERA

Depression Era is based in Athens and is composed of 25 artists. Formed in 2011, the group works with socio-economic criticism and strong political statements. Through ironic images, the project The Tourists presents a subversive tourism campaign. It refers to the current wave of refugees, the mass migration from Asia and Africa to Greece, and the simultaneous increase of tourism in the Mediterranean. The collective proposes another perspective of the tourist figure, posing it as a simulator of social involvement.
www.depressionera.gr


FOTOROMANZO ITALIANO

Based in Milan and consisting of three Italian artists, Fotoromanzo Italiano works as a photo laboratory, pushing the boundaries of the photo novel genre—once a vivid element of Italian imagery culture. The collective aims to reinvent the photo novel practices by exploring the mix of text and image, adding a contemporary touch to the narratives and photography techniques.
www.fotoromanzoitaliano.it


IMAGENRED

Based in Barcelona, Imagenred  was formed in 2017 and consists of seven artists. It is a project with a collaborative, transversal and pedagogical profile. The group proposes visual action and the study of image in its context. They stimulate critical thinking among young people by providing workshops in schools. The programme offers ideas for activities and meetings around the current debates on photography.
www.imagenred.org


KLAYM

KLAYM is not only a collective but also an independent association founded in 2015. With an extensive team of photographers, journalists and designers, the collective promotes an interface between young creatives from African countries and international clientele/audiences. They stimulate artistic production, debate and education in Africa. Among many projects is the production of Nice Magazine, a publication dedicated to connecting artists and promoting their works.
www.klaym.org


LONDON ALTERNATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTIVE

The London-based collective is formed by seven artists of different nationalities and explores the many artistic possibilities brought by their diverse backgrounds. They provide a forum for anyone interested in new photographic methods and alternative photography ideas and processes. Accessibility and experimentation are the foundation of the conceptual proposals of London Alternative.
http://www.londonaltphoto.com/


(MUSIC FOR) EGGPLANT

(Music for) Eggplant challenges the traditional notions of authorship by always producing works in collaboration. Their work involves a combination of video, live stream images and sound. In their core conceptual frame is music improvisation, nonsense sounds and musical density.
www.musicforeggplant.bandcamp.com


MIGRANT IMAGE RESEARCH GROUP

The Migrant Image Research Group consists of 12 members, among them are illustrators, photographers, artists, photography historians, graphic designers and publishers. The project of the Migrant Image Research Group questions already existing images of migrants by finding other images and representing new ways of telling their stories. Their goal is to explore the images and portrayals of migration circulating in the media and collect testimonies far from the mass media stereotypes.
www.vimeo.com/lampedusa


TOKYO PHOTOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

Tokyo Photographic Research is a research-based project that approaches contemporary photographic technique and debate through a multidisciplinary proposal. The group aims to portrait Tokyo's current landscape before the Olympic Games, through the perspectives of several artists. The project focuses on artists who address modern technology, image culture and media environment from a critical point of view, proposing to build an unconventional photographic archive for the city of Tokyo.
https://www.tokyophotographicresearch.jp/


UPOMINKI

Upominki is a collective as well as a non-profit project space founded in 2012. The group explores the ways in which the individual artistic vision challenges that of the curator. They promote interdisciplinary dialogue and enrichment of photographic material treatment. Upominki is interested in the multiple relationships built throughout their creative processes and wishes to stimulate people’s awareness for new artistic possibilities.
www.upominki.nl


YAOUNDE PHOTO NETWORK

Yaounde Photo Network is an independent Cameroonian initiative dedicated to photography and lens-based art. The platform, consisting of several artists, was created in 2016 with the aim to support and showcase the work of Cameroonian artists, locally based photographers, and video artists. They assist photographers in achieving levels of viability and sustainability, and aim to foster collaborations between artists in Cameroon, Africa and beyond.
www.yaoundephoto.net