Workshop: Archive, Non-Archive, Counter-Archive

What do archives show? The two-day workshop “Archive, Non-Archive, Counter-Archive” investigates the shift towards archival critique in contemporary art. On the basis of a close reading of works by artists Oraib Toukan and Armin Linke, the workshop aims to explore the interrelationship between epistemic and archival practices. In particular, it will inquire into artistic practices that restore visibility to lost or suppressed forms of knowledge.

Do archives create the starting conditions for history? No characterization could be as fitting––or as wrong. Certainly, the archive stands at the beginning of memory and history, of facts and knowledge. But on the other hand, archives also hinder the production of knowledge about the past, privileging specific forms while suppressing others. Thus, this workshop aims to discuss artistic practices that deal with archives as epistemic zones of conflict and battlegrounds of historical semantics, rather than as places and access points to history. 

Participants: Knut Ebeling, Melanie Franke, Ulrike Gerhardt, Gil Hochberg, Rebecca John, Eva Kernbauer, Verena Kittel, Oliver Krätschmer, Armin Linke, Paul Mellenthin, Doreen Mende, Rasha Salti, Melanie Sehgal, Oraib Toukan.

The workshop is organised by Paul Mellenthin and the “Images of History in Contemporary Art” art historical research group at the University of Potsdam. Team members are: Christoph Balzar, Alex Bykov, Ulrike Gerhardt, Sophie-Marie Gruber, Verena Kittel, Paul Mellenthin, Oliver Krätschmer, Luisa Mann. Led by Melanie Franke and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.