Group portrait, Tania Bakalian Collection, courtesy of the Arab Image Foundation, Beirut.

The Foundation for Art and Psychoanalysis’ Oral History Collection focuses on the creation of an archive that is driven by human, subjective experiences. It is an open space, which encourages artistic experimentation and plural perceptions of world events. It is, furthermore, defined by the ethos of conversation—not only due to the nature of the projects developed but also in the way these are made accessible to a large audience.

Conceived in 2020, the Oral History Collection seeks to preserve multiple historical perspectives by commissioning creative practitioners with original, urgent projects. Its mission is to prevent the suppression of the human dimension associated with epoch-marking events, as well as to counteract the destruction of archives that, throughout history, has marked colonialist violence, wars, and regional conflicts. Understanding that the erasure of important sections of history has been particularly prominent in non-Western countries, given the fundamental role played by oral traditions in these cultures, the Oral History Collection is open to all peoples and languages. Our approach is one of international and sensitive engagement.

Each project developed within the collection’s framework is unique. In order to preserve the artistic voice of the practitioners involved, our methodology remains flexible, resulting from a research work that considers the particulars of a project. In so doing, the agreed methodological guidelines are able to answer to the specific needs of each body of work. It is by being aware of the demands of the world around us, for example, that the Foundation has encouraged the use of images and video recordings in the collection’s projects. We understand that today, considering the role of video formats in everyday life, we rarely hear a voice in isolation. It was therefore necessary for our archive to correspond to broader forms of media literacy.

Our aim is to continue growing this archive, enriching our audience’s understanding of history not as something recorded but lived. Our collection is open and accessible. It is very important for us that this is not only an archive of exchanges, but also the starting point of new ones—on institutional, communal, and personal levels.

Information on the Oral History Collection's Projects is available here.