Redefining culture from the peripheries.

OtherNetwork is a new type of cultural institution that connects independent art spaces worldwide.

At its core are hundreds of projects that are strongly rooted in their local context, responding to the needs of artists directly. We see the term ‘independent’ as fluid and context-specific, and continuously seek to unpack what this means to cultural practitioners in different global localities through an online platform and series of original productions.

OtherNetwork is guided by a firm belief that these cultural venues offer urgent counter-narratives to mainstream art institutions.

“The history of the market has proven to us that artists have not always had the voice to make decisions that are very crucial in their own practices—in the market space, it’s always commercially driven.”

Nuna Adisenu-Do (Accra)
in OtherNetwork Conversations, 2023

“There are always all these ingredients—social forces, political forces, economic forces—but sometimes, and somehow, they all come together and make a form of practice, or an institutional structure.”

Sumayya Vally (Johannesburg)
in Interdependence editorial series, 2022

“The beauty of being completely independent is that we have absolute freedom to do whatever we want, whatever comes to our minds. We experiment a lot.”

Sebastian Rojas (Santiago)
in OtherNetwork Conversations, 2024

OtherNetwork works with project spaces that:

• Prioritise local urgencies
• Platform diverse ideas
• Foster interdependence & collaboration
• Support grassroots organising
• Develop radical forms of practice

“Institutions are strange creatures. Up to a point, they seem to support us, but beyond that, they start to devour us.”

Benjamin Seroussi (São Paulo)
Casa do Povo, 2025

Our core elements

❶ Research

Ambassadors on the ground in each priority city act as a bridge between OtherNetwork and their local cultural scene to expand the online network of independent art spaces.

❷ Local Productions

A distributed programme of panel discussions, pop-up exhibitions and other events in partner cities across Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, hosted by the research team.

❸ Listings

Offering worldwide visibility to the programmes of independent project spaces by inviting users to add upcoming exhibitions and events.

Our core elements

❹ Flagship Curatorial Project

A traveling exhibition conceptualised as a relay, with previous iterations in Stuttgart, Accra, Johannesburg, Salvador and San Juan, with Baranquilla upcoming in 2026.

❺ Conversations

A podcast series that highlights some of the cultural projects reshaping the art world today.

❻ Editorial

Commissioned essays, interviews and other editorial content from writers and researchers in different contexts, co-published in partnership with platforms including e-flux Architecture.

Progress 2022—2026

• 14 Local Productions
• 21 Essays & Texts
• 5 Conversations
• 5 Exhibitions

Database

• 100+ Cities:
  • Accra: 137 connections
  • Johannesburg: 34 connections
  • Bogotá: 31 connections
  • Kinshasa: 28 connections
  • Santiago: 28 connections
  • São Paulo: 26 connections

Some of our latest productions

• Los límites del afuera

  From: La Casa de Meira
  To: Beta–Local

  November 22 – December 22, 2025

  

• Art Organizing as a Rhizomatic Practice

  Đan Trần

  July 31, 2025

  

• Elective Affinities for the Common Good

  Gabriela Jauregui

  July 19, 2025

  

• Spaces of Collective Learning, Relearning and Unlearning

  W’AHU Magazine

  April 2, 2024

  

Our fundraising priorities
for 2026

❶ Cultural Programme

Expanding the existing events season to a year-round programme of Local Productions.

❷ New Partnerships

Becoming a catalyst for local initiatives to reach a wider audience through expanded editorial content and working groups.

❸ Itinerary Feature

Allowing local cultural producers in each priority city to curate guides that highlight independent spaces in each location.

❹ Communication

Expanding the audience of OtherNetwork to give international visibility to its members.

❺ New Geographies

Expanding research to new priority cities, including San Juan, Hanoi and Jakarta.

Our resources
for 2026

• ❶ Itinerary

  € 22.1k
  € 22.1k

• ❷ Podcast

  € 27.1k
  € 2k

  € 25.1k

• ❸ Communication

  € 25.6k
  € 3k

  € 22.6k

• ❹ Editorial

  € 21.9k
  € 6k

  € 15.9k

• ❺ Local Productions

  € 18.6k
  € 11k

  € 7.6k

• ❻ Curatorial Projects

  € 131.8k
  € 114.7k

  € 17.1k

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• Total

  € 236.1k
  € 136.7k pledged

  € 110.4k required

Thank you!

OtherNetwork is a public benefit organisation (ANBI) registered in the Netherlands. It was initiated by Cookies together with ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen in 2021, and receives additional support from Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie and Between Bridges.

OtherNetwork team includes Federico Martelli, Colin Keays, Studio F451 (Domitille Debret & Quentin Creuzet), Samantha Modisenyane, Abraham Tettey, Camila Alegría, Matheus dos Reis and Camilo Quiroga.