Description and Access for Anti-Black Material in Archives
- 25 March 2022, 2pm
View larger version
This blog post presents a summary of content produced as part of the Art360 Foundation Programme (2014 to 2025). It is shared here with the intention of preserving and extending access to the important learnings from this programme of work.
Archivist Melissa J. Nelson delivered an online workshop as part of the Expanded Archive Network series in 2022 addressing anti-Black racism in archival records. The event outlined a more equitable approach to archival description and access.
The workshop provided participants with practical methods for creating inclusive descriptions and how to provide access to materials, while minimising harm. Including critical examination of how descriptive and access practices influence the discoverability of racist archival records, it encouraged meaningful discussion and role reflection.
Attendees learnt how to be a part of reshaping archival practice by applying anti-racist frameworks to their work and challenging existing norms.
The Expanded Archive Network series was a collaboration between Art360 Foundation in the UK and Hauser & Wirth Institute in the US. It connected freelance and institution-based archivists, curators and other memory workers through a shared interest in artists’ archives and futures. The network sought to foster a cross-cultural network for resource sharing and innovation in the expanded field of artists’ archives.
