In these highly touristy areas, one can’t help but think of the countless souvenir shops, so alike that it’s impossible to tell where they come from. Whether in Brussels, Rome, or Belgrade, it’s mugs, t-shirts, magnets, and all those things sold to us that tell the same old story. But can we truly consume the memory of a city and its inhabitants?

This is the story of Collection Collective, a souvenir shop that is told and experienced together.

Collection Collective showcased a selection of artists who each approach the theme of memories that traverse our lives in their own way.

With his digital installation The Mind is a Voice, The Voice is Blind, young Austrian artist Simon Lehner takes us inside a digital reconstruction of the traumatic memories of his childhood. Lehner compares the digital post-production process to the unconscious and constant reconfiguration of our own personal memories.

Belgian artist Estelle Saignes unveils her tapestry Green Lake that Memory Smell. She continuously revisits a specific artificial lake in the United States, searching for a connection between the physical landscape and her relationship with it through memory.

In her photographic installation Time spent that might otherwise be forgotten, American artist Diane Mayer traces the thread of our memories through a disturbing blend of wool and family photographs.

Finally, Belgian visual artist Louise Devin closes this narrative by leading us into her Coin Final, a two-way cemetery with an appearance that is as tender as it is cruel.

This artistic project also aimed to blend the practices of professionals with those of citizens in order to collectively create a shared souvenir shop.

Over three years, four groups designed their representation of a memory:

• With the help of a professional ceramicist, a group of young girls from a Youth Center in the Marolles created an object in ceramic that represented one of their memories.

• Alongside photographers, a group of young adults brought new life to old slides abandoned in the market at Place du Jeu de Balle.

• Working with illustrators, a group of seniors engraved a memory of their neighborhood onto upcycled coasters.

• With the guidance of designers, a group of adults created a tufted flower rug inspired by the one on the Grand Place.

This participatory project allowed a group of young girls from Maison de Jeunes 88 to learn ceramic techniques and create an object representing a childhood memory. Together with professional ceramist Anaid Moh, these precious moments were captured by Ben Riffon, the founder of Kimia Studios.

Click HERE to listen to the audio clip.

Souvenirs Souverres” is one of the participatory projects presented at the heart of the exhibition. In the busy streets of Les Marolles, we went to visit isolated elderly people who have lived most of their lives in this neighbourhood. From these encounters, we came back sometimes laughing and often with tears in our eyes. The project had already begun. 

The testimonies were recorded and transcribed by a volunteer teenager living in the neighbourhood. One of the many tattoo artists in the neighbourhood then illustrated the memory. The whole thing was printed on coasters made of clean cardboard waste. Once collected, these precious items only needed to be distributed in the neighbourhood’s bars, cafes and restaurants so that they would never be forgotten. 

A project carried out in collaboration with Habitat et Rénovation (PCS Radis-Marolles and Querelle), Maison Vésale, Home des Ursulines and Home Sainte Monique.

Click HERE to read the full testimonials and HERE to see the flash illustrations made for each memory.