REACTIVATING THE ARCHIVE
Thu 17 Apr
|READING GROUP
Reading Group led by Estéfani Bouza (University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK)
—
17 Apr 2025, 18:30 – 20:00 WEST
READING GROUP
—
The Archivo Reading Group Series invites participants to explore seminal texts in visual culture, with a particular focus on lens-based media and the archive. Led by scholars, researchers, and artists, these sessions foster engaging discussions and critical analysis. Participation is exclusive to Archivo Network members in good standing. To join the Network, visit our website or contact us at info@archivoplatform.com.
ARCHIVO READING GROUP
Reactivating the Archive
Estéfani Bouza
Swansea College of Art, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK
On this reading session we will focus on the potentialities of the archive and its application to artistic practices. We will use Stuart Hall’s Constituting an Archive (2001) as a starting point to discuss issues that emerge from using the archive as both a model and a source. In this short text Hall presents the archive as a productive tool, however he also brings to the fore some of the contradictions inherent in the process of creating an archive, such as the transformation of the pre-existing material into archival documents. Furthermore, Hall understands the archive as a living entity, in the sense that the materials contained in it are not fixed in the past but rather their meaning is up for grabs and to be interpreted in the present moment.
Through the use of case studies we will explore how artists reactivate the archive to create a collective engagement around issues of our time. The case studies to be discussed include: Zoe Leonard and Cheryl Dunye, The Fae Richards Photo Archive (1993-1996), addressing the lack of diversity in the Hollywood star system or the Trans Memory Archive (2012-ongoing) creating a collective memory of trans identity in Argentina. Further cases to be explored are: Jill Magid’s The Barragán Archives (2013-2018) questioning archival ownership and the sale of archives from South America to institutions and private owners in the West and Carmen Winant’s The Last Safe Abortion (2024) visualising care, abortion clinics and reproductive rights.
Reading Materials are available at the Archivo Network member's page.
—
Estéfani Bouza is a visual artist, researcher and lecturer at Swansea College of Art, University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Bouza’s practice and research focuses on ideas of archiving and collecting in photographic practice. She holds a PhD and an MA in photographic studies from the University of Westminster. Her work has been exhibited widely in the UK, Spain, Portugal and South America.
Cover picture © Carmen Winant, The Last Safe Abortion (2023)