Traversing the Archive
The project consists of in-depth knowledge and experience exchanges through a series of digital workshops and seminars which examine the challenges and possibilities of archives today. The project brings together archives from four very different geographies: Türkiye, Russia, the USA and Sweden. These sessions become a resource for the archives involved while also making connections with the aim of creating long-term allyships across institutions and between individuals.
The first part of the project methodology was digital. Eleven archives were invited to participate in six seminars in Fall 2022. In addition to representatives from the different archives, keynote speakers were also invited to participate in different sessions and to share their expertise.
In June 2023, all the archives will gather during a three-day meeting in Stockholm to get to know each other in real life and deepen the discussion and contacts. Together with visits to archives in Stockholm, we will also be organizing a symposium hosted in partnership with IASPIS in Stockholm. The symposium will consist of workshops and discussions with several specially invited guests, concluding with a public event in the evening with keynote speakers.
Participating Archives:
The National Library of Sweden (Stockholm), KvinnSam - National Resource Library for Gender Studies (Gothenburg), SALT (Istanbul), Diyarbakır’s Memory Archive (Diyarbakir), bak.ma (Istanbul), International Memorial Archive (Moscow), Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (Moscow), Typography Center for Contemporary Art Archive (Krasnodar), Interference archive (New York), The Georgetown Slavery Archive (Washington, DC), The Skid Row History Museum and Archive (Los Angeles).
Many thanks to our generous keynote speakers and presenters: Boris Buden, Filipa Cesar, Claire Hsu, Lars Ilshammar, Marysia Lewandowska, Katarina Pirak Sikku and Aparna Tandon.
Traversing the Archive is a collaborative project initiated by The Cultural Counsellors of Sweden: Mike Bode (Turkey), Maria Lind (Russia), and Helene Larsson Pousette (USA) with the curator Naz Cuguoglu.
The project is financed by the Swedish Arts Council, the Embassy of Sweden in Washington and the Embassy of Sweden in Moscow and the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul. The symposium in Stockholm is held in collaboration with IASPIS – International Programme for Visual and Applied Arts, Konstnärsnämnden.
