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The sociologist Manuel Castells, in the documentary from VPRO Time For Change, states how people accept capitalism, not because they agree with it, but because it is the only system they know. A market, one of the most inclusive and representative public spaces, seems like a perfect context to hint people with different alternatives, evident in the market itself, the products and services, and the way these are traded.

The Other Market is a platform, materialized in a series of carts and stalls, to trade products and services without money, using dialogue as a currency. The carts and stalls are made embracing the aesthetics of informality, aiming to create a contrast with over-planned and over-designed societies; this is also the main aspect to trigger dialogues on the streets. The Other Market affirms the public space as a place for participation and contestation, in contrast with the de-politicized public space that people in power want our cities to have.

So far, The Other Market has spoken directly to over 350 people on the streets of Eindhoven, Utrecht, Rotterdam and Budapest (via Efemertér –a group of students from Budapest who found it the most appropriate way of researching about people’s opinions on public space). It has collaborated with over 40 people in different ways, and over 9.000 people from 60 different countries have viewed its Blog. It has been published on 5 different articles and blogs, and it was visited by the 32.000 people that assisted to the Graduation Show of the Design Academy Eindhoven. The Other Market also took part in the Self Unself exhibition in the Salone del Mobile in Milan 2014.

How does your proposal contribute to the open society?
Ordinary citizens are rarely included in important decision-making processes unless it’s Election Day, which fosters the impression of participation through casting a ballot.  The Other Market emerged from the belief that every citizen is equally valuable and there exists a pressing need for a platform that can amplify andarticulate these voices.  Creating open spaces for dialogue in the public domain contributes to an open society, it exposes the flaws of the existing schemes and system, while providing potential alternatives in and by the public.