frontsforefronts

Frontsforefronts is a cross-disciplinary project that examines the concept of fronts—geopolitical, social, and symbolic boundaries—through scholarship, art, and public practice. The project treats “front” as a productive figure that illuminates how power, risk, and cooperation are organized at the edges of communities and states, and how those boundaries are narrated in media and memory.

Origin and goals: Launched by a loose collective of researchers, artists, and community organizers in the mid-2010s, frontsforefronts seeks to map and analyze front lines not only of conflict but of negotiation, care, and solidarity. It prioritizes participatory methods, open-access outputs, and collaborative authorship across disciplines and neighborhoods.

Activities and outputs: The program hosts residencies, publishes a digital atlas, and curates exhibitions that juxtapose historical fronts with contemporary solidarities. It also produces essays, zines, public talks, and datasets that are designed to be remixed by educators, activists, and scholars. Online platforms often feature interactive maps and multimedia installations.

Organization and funding: Governance is informal and rotating, with a core coordination team guiding projects while inviting broad participation. Funding comes from arts councils, research grants, and philanthropic support that favor community-led, interdisciplinary work.

Reception and impact: Frontsforefronts has been discussed in border studies and critical geography as a way to reframe front lines as sites of engagement rather than mere division. It has been praised for accessibility and collaboration, while some critics argue that the broad use of the “front” concept risks conceptual dilution without careful case studies.