Objects as protagonists. Spaces as narratives. object agency (n.) — the capacity of inanimate objects to influence human behaviour and act upon the worlds around them. In material culture, objects are understood as participants rather than passive things. At OBJECT AGENCY, Lisbon, this becomes a way of looking: seeking objects with an unusual capacity to act. Objects that exist between function and sculpture—useful enough to live with, sculptural enough to change a room. Material culture, not content culture.