History Acts

The collection at @InterferenceArc is very global - whilst the community of volunteers working at the archive is intensely local #HISTORYACTS

.@InterferenceArc is an open-stacks archive, which means visitors can go through the archives on their own. The organisation strives to be non-hierarchical, and is focused on working out how to exist as an anti-capitalist archive #HISTORYACTS

. @InterferenceArc Those helping to catalogue the archive are often the very same people who are part of the communities being catalogued. They host archiving 'parties' to try and make the archives as accessible as possible #HISTORYACTS

.@InterferenceArc Use = preservation. Focused on allowing people to access the collection freely, as use is a form of preservation when the ideas contained within the archive are carried forward #HISTORYACTS

.@InterferenceArc hosts public events to encourage engagement with the archive, and produce their own exhibition catalogues and publications. E.g. have worked with tenant organisations in NY organising rent strikes #HISTORYACTS

.@InterferenceArc is focused on being connected and rooted in the struggles happening now #HISTORYACTS

.@InterferenceArc is figuring out how to best engage with the the coronavirus crisis, as well as the BLM protests happening on the ground, in a meaningful way - whilst also negotiating the precarity engendered by the pandemic #HISTORYACTS

Now @maydayrooms, which collects and preserves historical materials related to social movements, experimental culture and the radical expression of marginalised figures and groups, based in London #HISTORYACTS

.@maydayrooms has two rooms they rent to free to groups that want to use them - in some ways the building functions as a social centre #HISTORYACTS

Now Chris from 56a Infoshop, which started as a squatted building in the corner of a council state in Elephant and Castle. Combines an archive, social centre, organic food co-op and large open access bicycle workshop #HISTORYACTS

None of the archivists at Infoshop are trained - is a DIY grass roots operation. Doesn’t even have its own catalogue and is open shelf. This approach always produces a conversation around the material #HISTORYACTS

56a Infoshop was originally started by squatters who could draw on a welfare state that wasn't quite so punitive - many contemporary volunteers and activists now have to deal with work/debt/precarity and housing issues #HISTORYACTS

56a Infoshop and @maydayrooms are collaborating on the 'Pandemic Notes' project: http://pandemic-notes.maydayrooms.org  #HISTORYACTS

The project needed to grapple with how to reach out to marginalised groups to archive their experiences, when they might be facing more immediate concerns - like job losses, illness and housing precarity #HISTORYACTS

Now @Andyucl, talking about his interest in archiving as an activist practice. He is showing us his T-shirt from the Trade Union Library in Cape Town: 'knowledge is too important to be left in the hands of the bosses' #HISTORYACTS

We need to ask: what is the purpose of projects trying to archive both the pandemic and BLM protests? It is important for these archiving practices to be movement-led @Andyucl #HISTORYACTS

We know full well that that the police with use the archives against activists. E.g The Communist Party archive was raided by the police. How do we collect ethically and safely - whilst ensuring these histories are recorded? @Andyucl #HISTORYACTS

@Andyucl is talking about 'No one owes their trauma to archivists...', a blog post exploring the limitations of mainstream pandemic archiving projects http://eiratansey.com/2020/06/05/no-one-owes-their-trauma-to-archivists-or-the-commodification-of-contemporaneous-collecting …… #HISTORYACTS

. @CClements29 the wealth of initiatives that have sprung up to archive the pandemic across NGOs and different institutions leaves us with many disparate projects - how do we create a more cohesive archival record? #HISTORYACTS

.@CClements29 the fragments we are getting are coming from people who have the time/ energy to document their experiences - how can we create an intersectional archive when the BAME people most impacted by the pandemic can't afford to document their experiences? #HISTORYACTS

Q for discussion: Does the explosion of pandemic archiving projects reflect a desire to have our experiences seen as valid, when the government repeatedly disregards our health? Does documenting the pandemic give the powerless a sense of power? #HISTORYACTS

Q for discussion: Is archiving the pandemic about accountability? Documentation can be used to actively undercut the falsehoods put out by the government or the mainstream media #HISTORYACTS

Q for discussion: There are issues in both organising as activists - and archiving - on digital platforms. What are the implications of these social media platforms being owned by huge corporations often working in collaboration with governments? #HISTORYACTS

Q for discussion: How do we protect stories and contributions people are granting archives access to at this time? How do we archive ethically within our communities? #HISTORYACTS

Q for discussion: How do archives like @InterferenceArc and @56aInfoshop operate during a pandemic, when their usual focus on tactile interaction with physical materials and ephemera in open stacks isn't possible? #HISTORYACTS

Make sure to check out @InterferenceArc's podcast: https://interferencearchive.org/category/publications/audio/ … #HISTORYACTS