Counter

To counter is not to oppose and take down, but rather to deflect and correct. It is not a frontal hit but rather a displacement of force, as in jiu-jitsu; not the forceful closure of a path but rather the offer of a more attractive alternative; not the display of blunt antagonism but rather a clever redirection of attention and support.

Defeat of the opponent is of course the goal, but seemingly not the only one––and the means are creative, often memorably so. The punk movement and Thatcherism; the hippies and the Vietnam war; Jesus Christ; the Tropicália movement and the military dictatorship in Brazil; Gandhi; the Flying University in Poland…

We have entered the age in which being right no longer carries oppositional force, and in which it is hard to even pinpoint what to stand up to. Conservative forces in society have shown us what a deliberate, strategic “counter” approach wielding the most updated technological arsenal can do to achieve radical-change goals.

Some of the questions we ask include: What now? What are the roles of countercultures in fighting totalitarian regimes? What can we learn from past examples that can help us design an effective counter? What strategies of countering can we learn from the opposing side? How can we use the method of the counter to rethink new oppositional strategies? Are effective counternarratives enough to fight the current misinformation? What does a countercultural movement look like today? What can artists do? Do social media echo chambers disable the subversive effects of countercultural movements?

This Salon took place on May 14th, 2025.