FAQ — TRACES Studio for Creative Investigation

Any questions?
The TRACES Studio for Creative Investigation FAQ

︎ Do you have some more examples of what TRACES is doing?: A good starting point would be our ︎︎︎ teaser, as well as our ︎︎︎ position paper. But, as we are in the process of founding and establishing TRACES, many projects in form of texts, videos, microsites, exhibitions, and more, will follow to provide a more and more lively image of what makes TRACES special.
︎ Why “Traces”?: Everything leaves traces, and if we look, smell, listen, dig, if we shift our usual modes of attention to a more thoughtful and multi-perspectivist practice, we might be able to follow these multitudes of different traces, tracing not only criminal and unjust actions, but also – mostly overlooked – acts and evidence of more-than-human resistance.
︎ What is “creative” investigation?: To be frank: using the word “creative” is a compromise we put up with for accessability reasons. We are very aware of potential questions that might arise, such as: “Isn’t all investigation ‘creative’”?, or even: “Does ‘creative’ investigation mean that you potentially make things up or are less scientific in your approach?” Our usage of the term is inspired by the concept ‘investigative aesthetics’ used prominently by Forensic Architecture, a research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London. For more information on this, please see: E. Weizman, et al. FORENSIS. 2018; E. Weizman & M. Fuller. Investigative Aesthetics. 2022.
︎ Why “Studio”?: ‘Studiosus’ is latin for a study, a room where scholars take refuge to contemplate in solitude. ‘Studio’ is also a term for an artist’s studio, where artistic processes happen and objects from outside the studio become works of art, not magically, but through a variety of thoughtful practices. We chose the term ‘studio’ to emphasise the mostly invisible workings happening after materials of all kinds are collected during (investigative) fieldwork. To name just a few examples: viewing, listening, discussing, sorting, archiving, editing, programming, designing, arranging, reading, comparing, writing, mixing, printing, modeling, rendering, tracing.
︎ How do you finance yourself?: We finance ourselves through donations and grants from various gouvernmental and non-gouvernmental institutions as well as support from individuals.
︎ Do you give workshops or talks?: We sure do! At the moment, we are developing workshop programmes for NGOs but also the general public. We are also bookable for public talks. Please write a mail to pascal@traces.ngo.

DONATIONS

︎ I want to support you. Where and how can I do that?

Here you can donate︎︎︎

︎ Do you provide a charitable donation certificate?: Yes. The non-profit status of "TRACES Studio for Creative Investigation gGmbH" was recognised with the notice of tax exemption from the Berlin tax office dated 22.04.2022.
︎ What are your modes of payment?: You can pay via direct debit, credit card, Paypal, and Sofortüberweisung
︎ How much should I give?: You can for example donate a larger amount one-time or give smaller sums regularly.
︎ Can I donate items?: We need all kinds of equipment to keep TRACES running smoothly. Please get into contact, if you or your company can provide things.
︎ Do you provide information on how donations are used?: We are working on a newsletter for supporters. Additionally, as a registered NGO, we collect data for a publically accessable yearly report.
︎ Is your donation infrastructure green?: Our German partner Bank, GLS, enables a secure and green operation – the servers are located in ISO27001-certified data centres and are powered by 100% green electricity. We also work together with the ethical Triodos Bank, which follows similar standards. For more information please see their websites.; Our German partner Bank, GLS, enables a secure and green operation – the servers are located in
in ISO27001-certified data centres and are
are powered by 100% green electricity. We also work together with the ethical Triodos Bank, who follows similar standards. For more information please see their websites. We are doing our best to replace PayPal with a local provider soon.