We Are The Market! claims a liberal ALL-INCLUSIVITY to push the stretch of our cultural offer in the eye of the final commonplace; the capitalist commons of the high street.
Anticipating to a hegemonic culture encroaching on the city centre, one that’s turning exclusive due an engagement towards a “publics” while narrowing the diversity of cultural production for and by the majority; We Are The Market! commissioned 18 unannounced achievements that offered an alternative. As well as this, written contributions were delivered by people able to provide informed content after tending bar in the exhibition space.
These offerings to the public were gathered and presented in the relatively private sphere of the Onomatopee white cube—a space all too often mistaken for yet another shop. It was in this public space that an enormous white leather couch sat directly in front of the biggest flatscreen TV on offer; allowing everyone to flick through the documentation of the actions, flanked by the relics of the achievements scattered throughout the ‘white cube’ exhibition space. All of that is now featured in this piece of print, which is meant to distribute lasting inspiration on the span of engagement in the times of rising capitalist commons.
Features achievements by Apparatus 22, BURO SNDVG (A Snodero-Group member), David Blamey, Disarming Design, Everyday Criticality, Harmen de Hoop, Ilke Gers, Jasper Griepink, Jennifer Moon & laub, Martin Krenn, MG&M Collective (Mosab Anzo, Gil & Moti), Mona Lisa’s. Nolwenn Salaün, Su Tomesen, Teun Castelein, The Temple of Tease (Izabella Finch), Toine Klaassen and Vanessa Brazeau.
The theory-sparked bartenders contributing their thoughts include Berit Fischer, Dirk Vis, Fred Dewey, Koen Haegens, Lietje Bauwens & Wouter De Raeve, Michel van Dartel, Robert-Jan Gruijthuijzen and Rogier Brom.
This project was initiated and led by Freek Lomme and would not have been possible without assistant curator Josh Plough and interns Lucy-Rose Nixon (film and production) and Mook Attanath (graphic design and production); all in service and dedication to Onomatopee. Evidently Bart de Baets also helped a great deal, as` he made some astonishing works of graphic design flirting with commerce to serve our ends.
