Amator Archives (from the Latin amātor: lover) is an open source platform initiated by Werker Collective to support the production of political imagination through processes of counter-archiving, self-publishing and collective study. The materials in the archive are classified in crates (categories) and shelves (narratives) by its users, in function of their research needs. In 2020/22, during a residency at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Werker designed and produced a modular system in order to make the archive a space for hosting with the possibility of traveling. This website documents the ongoing processes taking place in the different iterations of the Amator Archives.

In 2009 Werker started collecting documents and visual materials with the mission of preserving and spreading the legacy of self-organised documentary practices. These documents originate from second-hand bookstores and flea markets, donated by friends and comrades, or are produced during the collective’s artistic and activist collaborations. Since then the initiative grew into an archive of more than 3000 historical and contemporary documents and is ever-expanding. The archive is physically located in the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood of Amsterdam and is regularly activated through conversations, workshops, performances, installations and publications.

Amator Archives: On Practices of Self-Determination. With Andrin Kabashi, Toska Saliju, Endrit Tasholli, Termokiss, Hyjneshat, Dylberizm, Jeta Rexa, Linda Gusia, Genta Shabani, Rina Meta, Nita Deda. Manifesta 14: ‘it matters what worlds world worlds: how to tell stories otherwise’. Centre for Narrative Practice. Prishtina, Kosovo 2022. With the generous support of Institut Ramon Llull, Mondriaan Fund.

Amator Archives: On Queer Reproduction. With Georgy Mamedov, Natalia Ruhe, Pierre Gramond-Dodet, Moa Holgersson, JeanPaul Paula, Leendert Vooijce, Nell Schwan, Marc Roig Blesa, Joy Mariama Smith, Iarlaith Ni Fheorais, Rogier Delfos, Margot Schmidt, Aliki Marketou. Rijksakademie Open Studios. Amsterdam 2022. With the generous support of Institut Ramon Llull, Acción Cultural Española.

INSTALLATION

Design by Werker with Stephan Kuderna, Roger Cremers, Pieter Verweij, Monique de Wilt, Marianne Pijnenburg, Seamus Cater.

WEBSITE

Design by Werker, coding by Quentin Creuzet.

CONTACT

Werker
Geldersekade 74
1012 BL Amsterdam
The Netherlands

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