Commissioned by the Goethe-Institut
In many countries, a profound authoritarian shift is underway. Fundamental values, historical narratives, and archives — spaces preserving cultural memory, resistant knowledge, and alternative perspectives — are increasingly under pressure. Materials that challenge these political transformations are being censored, reinterpreted, or erased.
The Goethe-Institut's global archive project FILE NOT FOUND responds by initiating a transnational exchange between those already affected and those who so far might have felt secure. It invites participants to develop, test, and present — or deliberately conceal — artistic and utopian counter-strategies, among others during a residency at Toronto’s The ArQuives.
The resulting works may be subversive, activist, research-driven, or academic. They move between visibility and encryption, disclosure and concealment, opening new spaces for strategies of resilience.
FILE NOT FOUND is an international initiative led by the Goethe-Institut Portugal, Amsterdam, and Washington, in collaboration with Gerador.
Phase 1: RETREAT
An international meeting in March 2026 brought together professionals working with archives in diverse political and cultural contexts. Through dialogue, workshops, and collaborative sessions, participants identified common challenges, exchanged experiences, and explored strategies for resilient, responsible archival practice — establishing a foundation for all subsequent activities.Phase 2: RESIDENCIES
From fall 2026 to spring 2027, ten artists undertake in-person residencies with ten partner archives across several countries. Each residency responds to the specific realities and vulnerabilities of its institution, developing creative approaches — new narratives, conceptual experiments, or protective strategies operating between visibility and discretion — to strengthen archives under pressure.Phase 3: EXHIBITION
The project concludes in fall 2027 with a public exhibition at BLMK Cottbus, Germany, and accompanying publication. The exhibition presents the residencies' results, sometimes openly, sometimes in concealed or encoded forms, depending on the material's sensitivity. The publication gathers the insights and methodologies that emerged, serving as a long-term resource for strengthening cultural memory, safeguarding archives, and supporting democratic values in uncertain times.Participating Archives
Over 20 archives from different parts of the world took part in the first movement of the project, gathering in Lisbon in March 2026 for four days of exchange, reflection and collective thinking.
In the second phase, 10 selected archives are hosting an artist residency dedicated to exploring and developing strategies that help archival spaces remain resistant and resilient in the face of external pressures.
THE ARQUIVES, Toronto, Canada
The ArQuives - Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archive is one of the largest independent 2SLGBTQIA+ archives in the world. The ArQuives’ mandate is to acquire, organize, and preserve materials in any medium by and about 2SLGBTQIA+ people in Canada. They provide public programming and access to information to promote greater awareness of 2SLGBTQIA+ histories and scholarship. Through hiring practices, volunteer outreach, outreach to communities underrepresented in their collections, funding new community-driven projects, and community-specific programming, The ArQuives strives to ensure that systemic forms of marginalization do not continue and strives for a future world where 2SLGBTQIA+ people are accepted, valued, and celebrated. The ArQuives were a partner of the Goethe-Institut Toronto’s Queer As German Folk project in 2018.Visiting artist to be announced in August.
DOCUMENTA ARCHIV, Germany
ARSENAL FILMINSTITUT, Germany
ACERVO BAJUBÁ, Brazil
CHINA MODERN ART ARCHIVE, China
KURDISTAN CENTRE FOR ARTS & CULTURE, Iraq
IMAGINE IC & THE NEED FOR LEGACY, Netherlands
VEHA ARCHIVE, Poland
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, Portugal
SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY ARCHIVE, South Africa
Related Links:
File Not FoundOpen Call
The ArQuives
