Call for Papers: The Tangible Archive
One-day Symposium
At the Special Collections - London Metropolitan University in Aldgate
7 December 2023
Archives contain records, artefacts and documents that are the raw materials of research; archives are also objects in their own right, formed by the decisions and practices of the archivist and institution. The tangible nature of archives, the materiality both of and in the archive, is the subject of this one-day Symposium which seeks to explore the “object-ness” of the archive. The Symposium seeks to reflect on the interdisciplinary material of archive collections and how different methodologies of research can interpret and envision archives. We are interested in the intersections of history and practice in and around the objects of the archive. We particularly invite contributions that reflect on the potential of creative practice to engage with the tangibility of the archive. Contributions should explore the potentials of materiality and tangibility in the archive as a collection, a site and as an object.
The event will be held on 7th December 2023, at the Special Collections at London Metropolitan University in Aldgate. These significant and varied Collections range from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Library Collections, with nationally important material covering trades union activities, women workers, and Russian Revolution posters to nearly 200 historic chairs from the Frederick Parker Collection and its attendant Archive (including many artefacts from the Parker Knoll company); from Artists Books to the Archive of the Irish in Britain. There will be an opportunity to view and discuss curators’ selections during the Symposium.
The full listing of the Special Collections can be found here.
The call for papers for The Tangible Archive Symposium are invited on, but not limited to:
The materiality of objects in the archive.
The importance of touch in interpreting and understanding archives.
The archive as object.
The potential of objects to interpret archival material.
Interaction with objects.
The role of interaction and interpretation in opening-up archives to different audiences and to engage with archive material.
Archives as inspiration for creative practice and practice as a ‘way in’ to the archive.
Decolonising and queering the archive through practice.
Re-ordering and re-classifying the archive through creative practice and the potential for liberatory and decolonial practices in the archive.
Proposals for a 15 minute paper, should consist of a 200 word abstract and a short biography of the speaker (max 100 words).
Please send to Gina Pierce g.pierce@londonmet.ac.uk by 5pm on 22nd October 2023.
Following the Symposium there will be the opportunity for the papers presented to be published in the Journal of Archives and Records. The Symposium is convened by Dr Gina Pierce (LMU) Dr Jessica Kelly (LMU) David Baldwin (LMU Special Collections) and Peter Fisher (LMU Special Collections).
Link image: via Unsplash