Atelier des Collectes

A series of collaborations with a research group around Arkadi Zaides' performance (from which the Hyphenated Database project emerged) raised questions around data collection, one of the first steps in setting up a geographic information system. Who collects the data, and for what purpose? Is it possible to imagine data-gathering practices that lead to and enhance emancipation?

Since then, we have been developing methods to drive collective change through the participatory process of data collection. We have called this the 'atelier des collectes'. From a theoretical point of view, this echoes several points from the manifestno , for example: "We commit to seek to make systems and data intelligible, tangible, and controllable."