Developing strong, meaningful, relationships between artists and archivists has so much potential to be fruitful for both fields. Interestingly, both art and archives have been historically undervalued in academia: artistic practice as a vehicle only for expression or reflection of issues, requiring translation by a critic or art historian to make sense of its real value (4), and archivists as “handmaidens of historians,” seen as passive intermediaries between records and the historians who interpret them (5)
Read moreThread Library: An Argument for Art in the Stacks
Thread Library, an artwork I made for the Iowa City Public Library (ICPL) in February 2020, suggests that information is always mediated by the tactile, tangible, material, and personal. Simply put, Thread Library is a collection of thread with a card catalog, and each thread is cataloged as if it were a book.
Read moreA Comic Book Guide to Archives for Artists and Makers
In 2017, the Providence Public Library published a comic book called Lizard Ramone in Hot Pursuit: A Guide to Archives for Artists and Makers. Written and illustrated by Jeremy Ferris, it forms the core of a simple toolkit for archivists.
Read moreNC Freedom Road Sites
Explore “Freedom Road Sites” related to Black Liberation across North Carolina through the African American Heritage Commission’s digital archives, or make plans to view these historic sites for when life goes back to semi-normal, like the Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony in the Outer Banks, Orange Street Landing in Wilmington, or the Mendenhall Plantation in Jamestown.
Read moreBe Prepared: (Emergency) Resources on Preservation, Conservation + Care
Need resources on archive preservation, conservation, and collections care? Is your archive, library, or special collection prepared for a natural disaster? Do you have digital documentation of your collection… or need tips where/how to start?
Read moreTerremoto's "First Notes for a Proposal for the Decolonization of the Archive"
Archivos Fuera de Lugar publication image courtesy of t-e-e.org.
“..we were interested in discussing the concept of custody. It was vital to articulate how, from the point of view of the institution and as subjects, we were asking ourselves about the limits between guarding and possessing a collection..”
Read moreResource: archives, Archives, or archives?
What Are Archives?
The word archives can be used in three different ways: archives, Archives, and archives. Confused? We can help.
Read moreArt: Christopher Lineberry's 'Notes from Metropolis'
In ‘Notes From Metropolis’ by Christopher Lineberry, the artist uncovers information at the North Carolina State Archives about the 1957 Greensboro "Morals Trial."
Read moreResource: Virtual Tours and Archives
Experience the internet’s virtual tours + archives from home. We’ve gathered the most impressive Top 10 (in no particular order)
Read moreArt: Archives & Access Films
Made during the Archives & Access project from 2012 to 2017, these films explore the breadth of projects and people that can be inspired by archive collections.
Read moreArt: Furen Dai, How Race Was Made?
Resource: What's an archives?
An archives is a place where people can go to gather firsthand facts, data, and evidence from letters, reports, notes, memos, photographs, and other primary sources.
Read moreOpportunity: How to Help Librarians and Archivists From Your Living Room
If you’re cooped-up and curious, use your free time to decipher handwriting, tag images, and more. - resources reposted from Atlas Obscura
Read moreCollection: the Museum of the Cherokee Indian
The Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, NC, Cherokee Territory, is an immensely valuable resource. The Archives has a diverse range of materials, many of which are available to be accessed online using the online catalog.
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