Between Remembering and Forgetting : The Archive and Cultural Memory

In the wake of the ‘archival turn’ the digitization of archival collections has been regarded as an important means of countering forgetting, especially in view of analog film stock and videotapes slowly decaying. But has digitization become a hollow promise? Can long-term preservation really be granted? The initial optimism has been challenged by the increasing number of data cemeteries, too. These are due to short-lived digitization projects, which are lacking sustainable planning. And to add, archival storage alone does not automatically contribute to cultural memory. Instead, archival holdings need to be circulated again, preferably in various media environments, in order to feed into our constantly changing, dynamic cultural memory. This keynote address will explore the relation between memory and forgetting in the archive. Advocating for sustainable archival projects, it will discuss the impact of materiality (e.g. paper, videotapes and digital data). Looking at media specificity involves the question of what gets lost in media transformation, for example in video documentations of performance art or expanded cinema. Situating itself within recent trends in cultural memory studies, the talk will outline the challenges and possibilities of today’s archival practice. Drawing on a number of case studies from the documenta archive as well as other heritage institutions, it will present ways of curating access to digitized collections. Different modes of access allow for a re-circulation of the archive, thus providing ways of constructing cultural heritage and memory.Invited keynoteVR-projekt "Den rörliga bildens kulturarv. Mångfald och minne i digitala filmarkiv" (2016-2018