Open Archief – Artistic Reuse of Archives
What happens when artists and archives meet? A simple exchange of information where one will give and the other will take? Or will it give rise to something more and will the fusion of the two reform the notion of what an archive is, can or should be?
In this blog Cees Martens explains how the search for the answers led to the book Open Archief - Artistic Reuse of Archives.
What happens when artists and archives meet? A simple exchange of information where one will give and the other will take? Or will it give rise to something more and will the fusion of the two reform the notion of what an archive is, can or should be?
In this blog Cees Martens explains how the search for the answers led to the book Open Archief - Artistic Reuse of Archives.
UNLOCKING CREATIVE POTENTIAL
In Open Archief - Artistic Reuse of Archives artists, curators, and researchers highlight the insights that creative reuse have brought forth within their practice. It enables reflection on their ways of thinking, creating new ways of perceiving not only the past, but also the way we will safeguard the future.
Twelve essays
The book is a result of a long running project called Open Archief. This multifaceted, collaborative project explores the potentials of what can be inspired by making archival material accessible to artists for creative reuse. Open Archief is initiated by three Dutch heritage institutions: Sound & Vision, Nieuwe Instituut and the International Institute of Social History.
After five years and multiple artists in residencies, workshops and clinics, the Open Archief project team sought a way to showcase the outcomes of the various aspects of the Open Archief programme. With the help and contributions of many inspiring former residents, artists, curators and researchers, Open Archief - Artistic Reuse of Archives was created.
In twelve visual and text based essays, the book paints a picture of archival reuse by artists and how they relate (themselves) to archives and archival institutions. In doing so, we demonstrate to the archival community, and anyone else, that archive reuse is co-creation. Secondly we intend to inspire readers to actively choose to work with archives: the essays in this publication provide many examples and avenues to explore. Finally the publication is aimed at a wider audience interested in art and archives.
Interaction, collaboration and co-creating
What exactly does it mean to ‘reuse’ an archive? It’s not just about finding an old photograph or reproducing historical events through means of collaging and editing. It dives into a deeper conversation with heritage materials, via juxtapositioning, recontextualisation and the adding of different layers. Instead of looking at archives as a distant, quiet place that promotes a static repository of history, reuse creates a space for interaction, collaboration and even co-creating.
The artists featured in this book - including names like Philipp Gufler, belit sağ, and susan pui san lok - share tangible examples of how they’ve worked with archives to create new narratives, challenge assumptions, and spark conversations. Their essays provide glimpses into their process and offer insights that could inspire any professional.
Looking forward
The power of Open Archief lies in how the conversation between artists and archives can stir the way heritage can be experienced and defined. It is less about finding the best methodologies of creative reuse, but more about encouraging artists and archives alike to start collaborating and co-creating, finding their own ways of reusing.
The essays in the book hold practical insights, but most importantly it will leave readers with more questions and the urge to start exploring the possibilities of creative reuse themselves. The book doesn’t just document what's been done, it sets the stage for what is possible.
The Open Archief project team hopes the essays will surprise, inspire and motivate you to start working and looking at archives in different ways than you did before.
Open Archief - Artistic Reuse of Archives is freely available online via the Sound & Vision Publication platform. The online availability reflects the ethos of the Open Archief project: creativity thrives when barriers are removed. However, if you prefer to hold the book in your hands, a physical book is also available and will be shipped worldwide via Idea Books.
For the creation of Open Archief - Artistic Reuse of Archives, the team worked together with Stichting Archief Publicaties and was made possible through the generous help of the Pictoright fund.
Feel free to reach out to us and take us along in your journey: makers@beeldengeluid.nl
Photo's: Rob Verkerk