Memory as Resistance:
Grassroots Archives and the Battle of Memory
CONNEXIONS and Beit Zatoun are spotlighting grassroots archives
this November with an open house and networking event November 24,
a talk and discussion November 27, and an exhibit (November 16-27).
Grassroots archives play a valuable role in what has been called “the battle of memory”.
Mainstream media and institutions of power consign inconvenient histories, struggles, and alternative visions to what George Orwell called “the memory hole.”
People’s history projects such as grassroots archives preserve and share stories of resistance, hidden histories, and alternative visions. Their role is particularly important as official archives are forced to restrict acquisitions, limit access and discard materials as funding is slashed.
Join us at Beit Zatoun in looking at the future of grassroots archive projects.
Exhibition: Memories of Resistance
A display of social justice materials from the Connexions Archive.
November 16 - 27
Is that an archive in your basement... or are you just hoarding?
An open house and networking event for amateur archivists, keepers of the radical past, and friends and supporters of independent libraries, grassroots archives, and people's history. Bring your stories, ideas, and examples of grassroots and radical history.
Saturday November 24, 2:00 - 5:00 pm
Preservation as subversion: Do grassroots archives have a future?
The Connexions Archive is looking for a secure and permanent home for its collection and the team of volunteers who work on cataloguing and digitizing. It isn’t alone. Other grassroots projects and “basement archives” face similar problems in preserving and sharing the history of activist groups and movements. They all believe that a knowledge of the past can be inspiring and subversive.
How can we preserve the history of our movements? Where can we preserve them?
Can we work together to digitize and share: 'Archive locally, share globally'?
Join us at Beit Zatoun for a talk and discussion with historian Natalie Davis, Ulli Diemer of Connexions, Dennis Findlay and Helen Lenskyj of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, and others.
Admission free but contributions welcomed.
Tuesday November 27, 7:00 pm
What - When - Where:
Memories of resistance: A display of materials from the Connexions Archive.
November 16 - 27
Is that an archive in your basement... or are you just hoarding?
Saturday November 24, 2:00 - 5:00 pm
Preservation as Subversion: Do grassroots archives have a future?.
Tuesday November 27, 7:00 pm (doors open 6:45)
All events at Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham Street, Toronto.
Near Bathurst subway station (exit Markham Street).
Contact Information
Connexions:
Phone: 416-964-5735
Email: mailroom@connexions.org
Website: www.connexions.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ConnexionsOnline
Beit Zatoun:
Phone: 647-726-9500
Email: info@beitzatoun.org
Website: www.beitzatoun.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeitZatoun
Selected Links and Further Reading
The Case for Grassroots Archives
The Connexons Archive: Securing a future for the past
A Glimpse of the Connexions Archive
Selected Archive Projects
Some archive projects concerned with grassroots movements for social justice.
If you have a collection of social justice materials in your basement/locker, etc., and would like to participate in an exploration of co-operative archiving and/or searching for shared space, on donating them to an archive, please fill out this form and email it to Connexions.
|
