Archives, Art and Activism
The research initiatives within the Archives, Art and Activism platform aim at conceptualizing and producing participatory methodologies grounded in the contact zones between creative, activist and academic approaches to digital and other archives and archiving.
The research initiatives within the Archives, Art and Activism platform aim at conceptualizing and producing participatory methodologies grounded in the contact zones between creative, activist and academic approaches to digital and other archives and archiving. To provide impetus for fruitful development of multidisciplinary and collaborative critical archival studies, the themes of Dig where you stand (DWYS), Multisensory heritage and Scenography have been identified as key critical challenges for the archival and digital ecosystem in a globalizing world. The themes are explored through extensive conference arrangement and participation, visiting researcher periods, local and global networking, publications, seminar series, research applications, and social media engagements. These activities foster a critical approach to archives and in particular digital heritage.
Activities 2013-2018 (a selection)
As Sven Lindqvist's Dig Where You Stand (1978) sees its 40th anniversary during 2018 we will pay special attention to this foundational activist work and source of inspiration. 26-27 September 2018, in Gothenburg, we will arrange a public lecture and an interdisciplinary invited workshop / symposium exploring Dig Where You Stand - Participatory approaches to community archives and archiving in our digital age.
During 2018 AAA is collaborating with independent dance communities to explore digital participation, see Astrid von Rosen's research blog. AAA is also facilitating the development of a Nordic network on scenography as a critical and creative archival approach to archives amd archiving in a digital age (funded by Nordisk kulturfond).
In 2017 AAA co-arranged the 13th International Nordic forum for dance (NOFOD) conference 14th-17th of June 2017 for the first time held in Gothenburg, attracting a global range of participants exploring the theme of dance and democracy in an increasingly digital world. You will find more information here: http://nofodgot2017.akademia.is/, and www.nofod.org.
In 2016 AAA arranged Dig Where You Stand: Reviving a Critical and Creative Context, symposium 11-12 November 2016 at University of Gothenburg in collaboration with University College London. The aim was to share knowledge and thoughts on the historical context of DWYS as book and social movement, in relation to societal challenges of today and the future.
In 2015 AAA arranged a major symposium on Archives, Art and Activism: Exploring Critical Heritage Approaches to Global Societal Challenges, 3-5 September 2015, at University College London, in collaboration with Critical Heritage Studies at the University of Gothenburg. Read more here.
In 2013, the AAA platform initiated the participatory project Dance as Critical Heritage: Archives, Access, Action (DACH) to explore how stakeholders from the academy, dance communities, archival institutions and the public can become actively involved in establishing an accessible, jointly controlled, shared and critically conceptualized dance history. A major resource produced by the project is the DACH archive, consisting of a large amount of materials from activities critically exploring dance history in and with the city. The project - still ongoing - offers an exemplary case study of the fruitfulness and critically relevant complexity of participation in the making of joint and sharable dance histories. Centering on independent dance, the project contributes new research questions and present new methods and a model for participatory approaches to dance archives and archiving in the digital age. Read more here, and see also the Dance Archives and Digital Participation research blog (currently in Swedish).