Archival Platform March Newsletter

Dear colleagues,

So far, 2010 seems to have been characterised by crisis in the archive/heritage sector.

Take recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, the collapse of a minaret  in the World Heritage city of Meknes, Morocco, and floods at Machu Picchu  in Peru.

We have the growing controversy around our own Minister of Arts and Culture’s walk-out of a lesbian art exhibition last August, which has stimulated discussion about the nature of art and pornography and the consequences of censorship and homophobia.

And finally, mining activity near Mapungubwe and in the Cape Winelands may result in the destruction of cultural landscapes that could yield valuable information about our collective past.

On the Archival Platform, things have also been moving (in a good way). Our new director, Jo-Anne Duggan, introduces herself this month in the AP blog, and the acting director, Harriet Deacon, says goodbye (sort of).

Our guest blogs this month discuss the exhibition walk-out (Gabeba Baderoon), speak about the use of weapons to make art in Mozambique (Amy Schwartzott) and reflect on heritage learnerships (Juanita Pastor-Makhurane).

We also ask for you to participate in the sector by contributing to an NHC survey on access to heritage resources, a survey about lottery funding, and the Durban Sings oral history project.

We received a number of excellent submissions from young professionals, blogs and meeting reports for our recent competition. Sebinane Lekoekoe’s blog on his course at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), was elected the winner by the AP panel of judges and receives the R1000 prize. The competition for the best book review has been held over because only one submission was received.

Please send us your book reviews to receive a book prize from the UCT Archives and Public Culture research programme.

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ARCHIVAL PLATFORM BLOG

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The Archival Platform has a new director

Harriet Deacon, the first AP director, says goodbye and Joanne Duggan, the new director, says hello.

Read more…

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GUEST BLOGS

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On looking and not looking

Gabeba Baderoon responds to Minister Lulu Xingwane’s comments on Zanele Muholi’s exhibition.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/blog/entry/on_looking/

Art and weapons in Mozambique

Amy Schwartzott discusses a Mozambican project’s use of recycled weapons to memorialise past wars.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/blog/entry/plowshares/

Refocusing on learners

Juanita Pastor-Makhurane discusses the importance of refocusing on learners in heritage learnerships.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/blog/entry/heritage_learnerships/

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OPPORTUNITIES

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National Heritage Council funding

South African San Institute: Marketing Manager

Director and Deputy Director of Conservation for the new Grand Egyptian Museum

The Cultural Moment in Heritage Tourism: submissions wanted

ICCROM course on First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict

Nominate African conservation specialists for the Keck Award

CSCS-Sephis Fellowships to India

Senior Fellowship Programme in Korea for experienced museum professionals

Articles wanted on cultural manifestations of violence and socio-cultural trauma

IFACCA seeks input for good practice guides

The Great Wall Co-Sponsored Fellowships Programme

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/category/opportunities_jobs_training/

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BOOK REVIEWS

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Photography and Apartheid South Africa

Defiant Images: Photography and Apartheid South Africa by Darren Newbury (UNISA, 2009): “While keeping the lens trained on the evolution of photography, it plunges the reader into a sharp and evocative socio-cultural history of a country in deep conflict.” - from the foreword by Albie Sachs.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/photography/

Patrick Harries’ book, Butterflies and Barbarians

This 2007 book, subtitled Swiss Missionaries and Systems of Knowledge in South-East Africa, charts Swiss missionary, Henri Junod’s, astonishing life’s work as a missionary, ethnographer, scientist and linguist.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/butterflies_and_barbarians/

Making Nations, Creating Strangers: States and Citizenship in Africa

This book challenges the idea that some cultures are “progress-resistant,” which has long been a feature of expert and popular writing about Africa and, in particular, of accounts of “failed” states or corrupt governance.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/citizenship_in_africa/

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NEWS &EVENTS

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DAC minister walks out of art exhibition

Lulu Xingwana, Minister of Arts and Culture, walked out of a Department of Arts and Culture-funded exhibition because it featured photographs of nude lesbian couples, which she reportedly found “immoral” and “against nation-building”. Censure of exhibitions like this may threaten artists’ freedom of expression and promote homophobia in SA.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/exhibition/

Further controversy around geographical name changes

The South African Geographical Names Council is hosting country-wide public hearings aimed at building social cohesion through the standardisation of geographical names. While there is general support for the process it appears that there is some tension among national, provincial and local government regarding specific mandates, roles and responsibilities.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/name_changes/

NHC heritage resources access survey

The National Heritage Council has called for heritage resources managers to complete its survey on access to these resources.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/access_survey/

Donate to Museum Africa’s soccer memorabilia collection

Museum Africa is collecting 2010 FIFA World Cup™ memorabilia, as well as items related to the history of football.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/soccer_memorabilia/

NGOs conduct investigation into lottery funding

Four South African non-governmental organisations have launched a survey into the funding practices of the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) and the National Development Agency (NDA). You can participate in their survey.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/lottery_funding/

Oral history project in KZN requests contributions

DURBAN SINGS is a regional audio media and oral history project using street recordings and internet audio archiving to create an open platform for contributions and remixes from artists and activists around the world. Send your contributions to the project by March 31, 2010.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/durban_sings/

Coal mining rights threaten Mapungubwe heritage

The Mail&Guardian newspaper reports that a battle looms over the awarding of coal-mining rights adjacent to World Heritage Site and national park, Mapungubwe.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/mapungubwe_heritage/

Nigeria moves to check illegal trafficking of artifacts

Nigeria recently held a national workshop on Illegal Trafficking of Cultural Property, organized by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM).

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/trafficking_of_artifacts/

More museums and archives use social media

The possibilities for institutions and individuals using social media are broader than ever. Click here for some advice and links!

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/social_media/

Jabulani Sithole discusses why history matters in South Africa

Episode 38 of Africa Past and Present – the podcast about African history, culture, and politics – features Sithole discussing his journey from activist to historian, his research on the ANC and labour unions in KwaZulu-Natal, Zulu identities and his role in renaming streets in Pietermaritzburg.

http://afripod.aodl.org/?p=758

A search for ancient Chinese merchant shipwrecks off the Kenyan coastline

The three-year project, funded by China’s Ministry of Commerce, will explore Kenya’s coasts around Malindi City and the Lamu Archipelago.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/kenyan_coast/

Federation of Human Rights Museums (FIHRM)

The federation, established in 2010, enables museums that deal with sensitive and controversial subjects such as trans-Atlantic slavery, the Holocaust and the fight for human rights to work together and share new thinking and initiatives in a supportive environment.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/federation/

International Museum Day: Museums for social harmony

The International Council of Museums has put together a communications kit for International Museum Day, May 18, 2010.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/museums_for_social_harmony/

Reducing the 30-year period for closure of state archives in the UK

The UK government has published its response to the 30-year rule review, supporting the recommendation that the 30-year period of closure of state archives should be substantially reduced to 20 years. Will this increase transparency and should it be done in South Africa?

http://www.archivalplatform.org/news/entry/30-year_rule/

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RESOURCES

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British Concentration Camps of the South African War 1900-1902

This website contains a database of concentration camps, people and farms, of the related era.

http://www.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/index.php

The Assimilation of Digital Libraries into the Web

This dissertation looks at two decades of digital library research and analyses the relevance of the library information model, or meme, in relationship to the transformative Web 2.0 meme.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/digital_libraries/

Interactive Archives

This website explores various case studies in using Web 2.0 to improve the archival experience. The AP has been added to the Delicious list of interactivearchivist’s bookmarks.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/the_interactive_archivist/

New ICCROM publications free online

Download some Africa 2009 publications, including Cultural Heritage and the law: Protecting Immovable Heritage in English-Speaking Countries of sub-Saharan Africa, for free.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/iccrom_publications/

Museums | Inclusion | Engagement CD

The Museums | Inclusion | Engagement CD includes five hours of practical information on engaging with and meaningfully involving diverse communities in museums.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/museums_inclusion/

Update from Impact Database

The Impact Database offers updates to its literature review of the evidence base for culture, the arts and sport policy.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/impact_database1/

New Book on Cultural Economics

A Textbook of Cultural Economics by Ruth Towse, Cambridge University Press 2010 discusses the economics of arts and culture.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/cultural_economics/

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CONFERENCES & EVENTS

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Archives and good governance conference

South African Society of Archivists in conjunction with the Department of Information Science at UNISA and the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa, will host a conference of archivists, records managers and heritage personnel in Pretoria on July 13 to 14, 2010. The theme of the conference will be records and archives in support of good governance and service delivery.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/conferences/entry/archives_good_governance/

Johannesburg Art Fair: Art and Industry

March 26 to 28, 2010, Johannesburg

The Joburg Art Fair showcases the cream of contemporary artistic production and is a critical platform for positioning African artists as players in the international art arena.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/conferences/entry/art_and_industry/

Future Museums Congress

June 7 to 9, 2010, Abu Dhabi, UAE

The congress will highlight the issues and opportunities for museums today and tomorrow through a series of panel discussions, lectures and workshops.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/conferences/entry/future_museums_congress/

ICT: Africa’s revolutionary tools for the 21st century?

May 4 to 5, 2010, Edinburgh

This conference will look at the use or potential of ICT in influencing change in Africa. Papers may wish to address issues of access, adoption, or impact, and may be framed in any discipline.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/conferences/entry/21st_century/

Rethinking museums

June 1 to 5, 2010, Mumbai, India

Museums in India and throughout the Commonwealth represent rich and diverse cultures but struggle to remain pertinent and to engage audiences in the contemporary world. Faced with this dilemma, there is a desire within museums to explore new theory and practices to fulfil their mandate for social service as cultural mediators.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/conferences/entry/rethinking_museums/

Transforming culture in the digital age

April 14 to 16, 2010, Tartu, Estonia

This conference looks at the notion of culture and transformations of cultural heritage, through a variety of disciplines ranging from arts, history, heritage studies, and museum studies to sociology, including media and literature studies and archival studies.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/conferences/entry/transforming_culture/

Report from the “Locating the Power of In-between” Conference

This conference was held in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2008 and explored the relationship between researchers and policy makers in developing countries.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/power_of_in-between/

Heritage recording and information management in the digital age (SMARTdoc)

November 19 to 20, 2010, University of Pennsylvania, US

The SMARTdoc conference offers a unique opportunity for educators, professionals, heritage institutions and managers of heritage places to share, exchange, and explore new approaches, best practices and research results in heritage informatics.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/conferences/entry/smartdoc/

Conference proceedings: DISH 2009

Digital Strategies for Heritage (DISH) is a new bi-annual international conference on digital heritage. These are the proceedings of the first conference in 2009.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/digital_age/

Conference proceedings: cultural heritage online

December 15 to 16, 2009, Florence, Italy

This conference, in Dec 2009, focused on empowering users: an active role for user communities.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/conference_proceedings/

Report on Lesotho workshop for community-based inventorying of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Sebinane Lekoekoe reports that Lesotho held a capacity-building workshop for community-based inventorying of Intangible Cultural Heritage from February 15 to 21, 2010.

http://www.archivalplatform.org/projects/resources/lesotho_workshop/

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WHAT IS THE ARCHIVAL PLATFORM?

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The Archival Platform is a strategic research, networking and advocacy initiative. We aim to promote collaboration and information sharing within the broad archive sector – including archives, museums and heritage, tangible and intangible – enabling effective dialogue between government, academics, practitioners and the public. Key areas of focus for the Platform in the medium term will include the economics of heritage, digitisation and use of digital tools in archives and heritage management, and heritage education.

Our networking efforts will reach out beyond South Africa, to elsewhere in Africa and other continents to expand this debate.

Entries for this newsletter come from lists such as South African History Online, the Southern African NGO Network, International Council on Museums and Sites (ICOMOS), Australia Icomos, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Council of Museums (ICOM), Icom-SA, the International Council of African Museums (AFRICOM), H-Net, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, Observatory of Cultural Policies in Africa (OCPA), Unesco Forum, the Getty Conservation Bulletin and your contributions.

Feel free to pass the newsletter on, and let me know if you don’t want to be on the list.

The Archival Platform is funded by Atlantic Philanthropies, supported by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the University of Cape Town.