News
In this news section you will find Archival Platform announcements. You can also download Archival Platform newsletters.
Share
Archival Platform August 2010 Newsletter
Download the Archival Platform August newsletter here.
Dear Colleagues,
One of the wonderful things about working on the Archival Platform is the opportunity it brings to meet inspiring people and to find out about the work that they are doing to collate, configure and present archives. While our website includes all of the usual items, we’re going to be taking a new approach to the news, interviewing people at work in the sector and reporting back on our discussions. This way, we hope to capture something of the spirit that drives the organisation, not merely the information about what it does and why!
This month we have a variety of posts and opinion pieces on offer. The Archival Platform Editorial, The right to memory, looks at how collective memory is defined, protected and manipulated. Adam Haupt’s post, Musical archives: hip-hop and the commons enclosure, asks who mediates cultural expression and cultural history and who is entitled to own the knowledge repository of black urban culture. Sandra Daniels’ post, Heritage obscured at the Nelson Mandela Gateway, examines the impact of 2010 FIFA World Cup™ activity on Robben Island Museum’s facility at the Victorian and Alfred Waterfront. Harriet Deacon’s post, Using new media for heritage management, considers ways in which visitors to museums and similar locations “perform” heritage, using sites such as Flickr, and wonders how this relates to each institution’s intentions.
Mbongiseni Buthelezi, our Ancestral Stories co-ordinator, questions the ways in which a family can be constituted and describes some of the challenges facing those who explore complex family histories. David Slingsby writes about the Cape Town Family History Society and describes some of the routes it takes to track genealogies. Xolelwa Kashe-Katiya shares her experience of growing up in a family headed by a strong matriarch. Michael Worsnip explains how and why his adopted children have “inherited” his ancestors. Shirley Gunn of the Human Rights Media Centre shares her experience working with mothers and daughters in an intergenerational life story project.
This month, the Archival Platform interviewed people involved in some inspiring projects. A meeting with Anthony Manion of Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA) lent insight into the way in which the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex archive works to create visibility and to challenge and change perceptions. Senzeni Marasela of AmaLwandle, an initiative which aims to develop an archive about South African woman, emphasised the need to draw attention to women who have made a difference – role models for future generations. We came across two extraordinary books at a recent exhibition: Keeping in Touch, a book in which a group of women each reinterpret a page from an earlier book, but this time in a new format, and Documenting Keeping in Touch, which tracked the process. Jeanette Gilks, who collated the pieces, explains how these books evolved. We joined the Human Rights Media Centre’s 10th anniversary celebrations, a joyful and moving occasion when women who have been part of various life story projects shared their experiences.
The impact of the proposed Protection of Information Bill and the possibility of a media tribunal have continued to keep the issue of media freedom in the headlines and we draw your attention to the Auckland Park Declaration, a statement issued by the editors of South Africa’s major publications and members of the South African National Editors’ Forum. We’ve also been watching, with interest, the stir caused by the exposure of “secret” documents by WikiLeaks, and take time to consider who, or what, this organisaton is and why the work it is doing is so important. If you’re out and about in Cape Town, don’t miss the Bonani Africa 2010 Festival of Photography, and if you’re in Johannesburg, or planning to be there in the next couple of months, be sure to see Transformations: Women’s Art from the Late Nineteenth Century to 2010, which offers interesting insights into women’s lives.
The University of Cape Town has introduced a new academic focus, offering opportunities for postgraduate studies in curatorship. There are a few interesting jobs on offer in the new Interpretation Centre in the Mapungubwe National Park, a couple of fellowships and several new conferences on our calendar.
Please let us know what your organisation or institution is doing to celebrate Heritage Month in September.
Best wishes
Jo-Anne Duggan
OPINIONS AND POSTS
Archival Platform Editorial: The right to memory
Jo-Anne Duggan wonders if there is a right to memory and looks at how collective memory is protected and manipulated.
Using new media for heritage management
Harriet Deacon considers ways in which visitors to museums and similar locations “perform” heritage, using sites such as Flickr, and wonders how this relates to each institution’s intentions.
Guest post: Musical archives: hip-hop and the commons enclosure
Adam Haupt asks who mediates cultural expression and cultural history and who is entitled to own the knowledge repository of black urban culture.
Guest post: Heritage obscured at the Nelson Mandela Gateway
Sandra Daniels looks at the impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ activity on the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town.
Ancestral Stories: Editorial August 2010
Mbongiseni Buthelezi raises questions around the ways in which families can be constituted and describes some of the challenges facing those exploring complex family histories.
A family history of a different kind
Xolelwa Kashe-Katiya shares her personal experiences growing up in a family headed by a woman, Florence Wynona Katiya, a matriarch who played a major role in shaping the lives of many other women, both in her family and in her community.
Guest post: The Cape Town Family History Society
David Slingsby describes the goals and activities of the Cape Town Family History Society.
Guest post: What about the ancestors?
Michael Worsnip explains how and why his adopted children have “inherited” his ancestors.
Guest post: Knocking on: mothers and daughters in struggle in South Africa
Shirley Gunn of the Human Rights Media Centre shares her experience of working with mothers and daughters in an intergenerational life story project.
NEWS AND OPINIONS
Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA)
The Archival Platform met with GALA Director Anthony Manion and reports back on the way in which the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex archive works to create visibility, and challenge and change perceptions.
AmaLwandle: a women’s archive
The Archival Platform met with Senzeni Marasela of AmaLwandle and reports back on an archive that intends to collect and make women’s stories and experiences accessible now and in the future.
Keeping in Touch
The Archival Platform visited Voyages of Discovery and came upon two extraordinary books and engaged in conversation with Jeanette Gilks, who collated the pieces therein.
Human Rights Media Centre
The Archival Platform attended the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Human Rights Media Centre and reports back on their powerful and moving life story initiatives.
The Auckland Park Declaration
The editors of South Africa’s major publications and members of the South African National Editors’ Forum issued a declaration expressing their concerns about attempts to curtail freedom of expression and the free flow of information in South Africa.
WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks have made public a number of “secret” documents recently. This month we ask who or what is WikiLeaks and why the work they are doing is so important.
CALLS FOR PAPERS, PROPOSALS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
Call for exhibition proposals: Guest curator opportunities, Levantine Cultural Centre, Los Angeles, United States of America
Call for papers: “Postgraduate Symposium on Visual Arts and Culture”, Johannesburg, South Africa, October 2010
Call for papers: “International Conference on African Same-Sex Sexualities and Gender Diversity: Practices, Identities and Communities”, Pretoria, South Africa, February 2011
Call for papers: “The Past and its Possibilities: Perspectives of Southern Africa”, Durban, South Africa, June 2011
EXHIBITIONS
Transformations: Women’s Art from the Late Nineteenth Century to 2010
A new exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery brings to light a treasure trove of images made by women.
Bonani Africa 2010 Festival of Photography
The Bonani Africa 2010 Festival of Photography offers a fascinating exhibition and conference programme.
CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
Conference: “Archives Without Borders”, The Hague, The Netherlands, August 2010
Conference: “Federation of International Human Rights Museums”, Liverpool, United Kingdom, September 2010
Conference: “The Second International Symposium on Information Management in a Changing World”, Ankara, Turkey, September 2010
Festival: The Taalmonument in the Western Cape celebrates its 35th anniversary
Workshop: “Digital Publishing in Africa: The Next Steps”, Nairobi, Kenya, September 2010
Conference: “Bridging Ages South Africa: Social Cohesion Through Time Travels”, Port Shepstone, South Africa, October 2010
Conference: “International Conference on Digital Library Management”, Kolkata, India, January 2011
BOOKS AND OTHER RESOURCES
Book: Cultural Heritage Collaborators: A Manual for Community Documentation
Website: Global Heritage Network 1.0 Beta, a collaborative internet platform for archaeological and heritage sites in the developing world.
OPPORTUNITIES
Guest scholar: Getty Conservation Institute
Job opportunities: Mapungubwe National Park – archaeologist, curator, assistant curator, interpretive officer and assistant interpretive officer
New academic focus: Postgraduate study in curatorship, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa – a limited number of bursaries are available
Postdoctoral fellowship: Getty Conservation Institute
Travel grant: Available to International Council of Museums South Africa (ICOM-SA) members wishing to attend the ICOM conference in Shanghai, November 2010
WHAT IS THE ARCHIVAL PLATFORM?
The Archival Platform is a non-profit initiative, established under the auspices of the University of Cape Town and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, to play a catalytic role in the way in which practitioners, theorists and the general public think about archive and the ways in which archiving is practised in South Africa.
We look forward to engaging with eveyone who shares our interest in and commitment to the sector and to working with all concerned to re-energise and breath new life into the sector, not just because we are interested in seeing our archives working efficiently and effectively, but because we know the archive can and should play a role in deepening hard-won democracies and building a just and cohesive society. Something I am sure we all aspire to.
