Cuidar nuestra(s) historia(s): cómo crear un archivo independiente (Looking out for Our History(ies): How to create an Independent Archive), aims to inspire a love for the tasks and potential of archiving, stimulating creativity and devising plans so that these archives can become assets for our shared life. This workshop focuses on archival practices outside of institutional frameworks or standardization. While institutional approaches to archiving will be mentioned, the goal of this space is to explore proposals that are independent of such frameworks, focusing on autonomous, experimental, and independent practices.

Archives preserve our memory, shape our self-understanding, and help us remember how we arrived at the present. There are many types of archives, and the ones that likely first come to mind are those that preserve administrative records, works of art, or materials of officially recognized heritage value. But there are also archives of a more grassroots nature: newspaper archives, archives of materials related to a musical genre, archives of the memories of minority groups... The possibilities of an archive are endless. The most grassroots or independent archives and their materials, due to their niche nature, are often relegated from institutional priorities and tend to accumulate more out of the enthusiasm and drive of small, personal, or community-based initiatives. And although these initiatives are peripheral, over the years they end up being fundamental to understanding the past beyond the synthesis or purposes of official narratives. An example illustrating this point is the importance of personal correspondence — materials that were originally preserved more out of affection or intuition and that now serve to corroborate historical information.

Institutional archives follow guidelines from supranational and national organizations for naming, cataloging, and organizing their materials. On the other hand, independent archives have the opportunity to consider which institutional cataloging tools serve their needs and what they prefer to do differently. Drawing on this creative freedom — combined with a focus on accessibility, digitization, and the development of tools for the public good — this training covers the essential elements needed to make an independent archive manageable, sustainable, searchable, and actionable.

Program

• Session 1: “The Archive: Not Only a Technology of Oppression, Scrutiny, and Control, but Also a Memory of Joy, Embodiment, and Community” 
      Introduction to theoretical and practical concepts of archiving. 
• Session 2: “The Archive Is Not; It Happens” 
      Types of documents and mapping of notable independent archives.
• Session 3: “I: a fiction of which we are, at best, co-authors” 
      Assignments and rights. How to ensure you don’t run into legal trouble. 
• Session 4: “That thing is given a name. And the thing keeps moving. And the name stays there, still” 
      Language and cataloging of the archive. How to prevent the order of materials from becoming obsolete.
• Session 5: “If we want to know what it will have meant, we will only know in times to come” 
      Digitization, accessibility, and cultural activations of archives. 

Designed for: cultural managers, artists, researchers, educators, librarians, public officials, and any interested individual or organization. No specific prior knowledge is required, but an interest in thinking about or working on a particular archival project is essential.

Date and time: Tuesday, June 2, through Friday, June 5, from 11:00 to 14:00h. Saturday, June 6, from 11:00 to 15:00h.
Location: Centro Cultural de España en México, Mexico City (CDMX)
Price: Free

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