In the institution in which everyone has a space, where is the space for everyone?

Gallery Zero is a proposal for a self-organized common space within the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK). Developed in response to the absence of a shared space within the academy, the project explores how underused spaces, materials, and social relations can be activated through collective participation.

Rather than proposing a finished design, Gallery Zero functions as an evolving framework shaped by its users. Through a series of collective acts inspired by “susu”, the spontaneous exchange that emerges around a shared activity, the project explores how trust, care, and collective memory can transform an anonymous space into a common place.

Existing materials, waste streams, and the diverse knowledge of students, staff, technicians, and other members of the academy become resources for the continuous development of the space. In doing so, Gallery Zero questions traditional notions of authorship and proposes a model of spatial production based on care, collaboration, and shared responsibility.

Conceived as a project in progress, Gallery Zero is less a designed object than an invitation: a platform through which a community can collectively imagine, construct, and sustain its own common place.