The Context of KONTEKST

The collective has grown from an idea. Scroll down to read about our story:

Bright light radiates outward in golden and cream tones, creating a starburst effect against a dark background.

We started off as a group of undergraduate students of BA Anthropology & Visual Practice at our 2nd year of our degrees at Goldsmiths, University of London. We shared a passion for storytelling and wanted to make powerful films.

Yet, anytime we would tell people what we studied, we would only generate confusion as nobody knew what visual anthropology was…

Illuminated LED light bulb with a glowing yellowish-white light.

SEPTEMBER 2023

We came up with an idea to organise a film festival, show our student films, and this way show to the public what visual anthropology is (and could be) about.

We teamed up with MA visual anthropology students and made a programme.

Audience gathered in front of a stage with a large screen displaying abstract patterns, in a dimly lit indoor venue.

NOVEMBER 2023

We hosted our first film festival - “Visual Anthropology Films” at Avalon Cafe in SE London.

With over 120 people in attendance, we realised that there is potential in what we were setting up. We decided to keep expanding the project so it could benefit more people.

A Huawei laptop showing a grid of video thumbnails or web page previews on its screen.
Event poster for 'Visual Anthropology Films,' an evening of ethnographic and experimental films by Goldsmiths students, hosted at Avalon Cafe on November 28, 2023, from 7 PM to 11 PM, free entry with drinks and snacks, featuring a full program on Instagram.

We wanted to make it possible for those who missed out on the film festival to still be able to see our work. We also wanted to create a resource for anyone interested in getting into filmmaking to get inspired and use it as a point of reference.

DECEMBER 2023

We set up a website - with an open-access online archive of films.

We wanted to make it possible for those who missed out on the film festival to still be able to see our work. We also wanted to create a resource for anyone interested in getting into filmmaking to get inspired and use it as a point of reference.

Close-up of a smartphone screen showing an Instagram gallery with various images, including posters, artworks, and food, in a grid layout.

2024

We grew our platform through Instagram and networking, made new connections.

We began using our Instagram page as a resource: reposting free courses, interesting events and opportunities related to sensory storytelling.

SEPTEMBER 2024

We founded

Colorful abstract digital art with a central explosion of bright colors including pink, yellow, red, green, and blue, resembling a dynamic burst or explosion.
A neon sign with an eye graphic and the text "KÖNIT EKS" in white on a black background.

We saw forming a Collective as an organic continuation of this project - from early on our aim was to connect people through shared passions, support critically-minded storytellers in getting their messages forward and make real-life social change.

We could never achieve that mission working alone so we opened up our platform to anyone interested - not just anthropologists or students - as that would limit its potential.

Disillusioned with the contemporary creative landscape, we wanted to follow an alternative, anti-capitalist model of structuring our organisation, one that does not create a hierarchy and does not tokenise diversity. We hoped that what we create could one day serve as a blueprint for other similar initiatives.

We wrote a manifesto.

Group of people sitting on the floor around papers, snacks, and drinks, engaged in a discussion or activity in a dark room.

FEBRUARY 2025

We organised

An audience of diverse individuals seated in a dimly lit indoor venue, watching a presentation or performance. The room has string lights hanging from the ceiling,'
Close-up of a dark-colored poster with white text promoting a radical grassroots festival of ethnographic and experimental film, art, and thought, scheduled from February 19 to 23, 2015. The poster features a stylized eye graphic incorporated into the word 'LOOK'.
A scattered pile of black-and-white photographs on a wooden surface, some overlapping, depicting various scenes including people, buildings, and outdoor settings.
A group of people attending a presentation or conference in a dimly lit venue, watching a person on a large screen with a slide about the 'Redistribution of the Intolerable' and an image of a man.
A group of people seated in front of a large presentation screen in a dark room, listening to a talk about content versus curation at a gallery.
A group of young adults seated and listening attentively in a wooden-paneled venue with red curtains, a metal lamp, and posters on the wall.
A woman with long dark hair in a black top is speaking into a microphone in front of a seated diverse audience in a dimly lit room with dark purple curtains and string lights overhead.