Actor-Network Theory, developed by scholars such as Bruno Latour, proposes that social and natural worlds are shaped not only by human actions, but by shifting networks among diverse “actants”: objects, technologies, animals, and natural forces.
This year’s theme, Networks, applies this idea to collecting, positioning collections themselves as “actants,” holders of narrative traces from the spaces they inhabited and the hands through which they passed: resting on fantasy writers’ desks, traveling aboard polar exploration ships, circulating through de-extinction startup offices, hanging on acclaimed photographers’ walls, or even carrying literal toxicity.
As you encounter the collections of these 17 new members, consider the new networks of meaning and exchange they create in this gallery. Explore a visual interpretation of this theme in our online exhibition, produced with member and photographer Nicole Neenan.
