DeCoSEAS

Roundtable on Colonial Resonances in Sound Archives, Eye International Conference 2023, 4 June 2023

Luc Marraffa (moderator), Layan Nijem, Stevie Nolten, Fredrik Molin, and Roan Opiso

Within EIC 2023 titled: Activating the Archive Audiovisual Collections, Civic Engagement, Global Collaboration and Societal Change

This roundtable brought together a plurality of young voices active in sound collections as archival assistants, collection managers, researchers and radio broadcasters. Their duality as experts working in/out of colonial archives – from the inception/organizational phase of collections within archival institutions to the repurposing of materials as archival users – provided insightful perspectives on how (re)using sonic materials can be an act of resistance. They asked how they open archives for (re)use by enhancing accessibility and searchability of sound materials. Their practices revive collections by accumulating multiple narratives on sound objects: how does transforming archives into interactive interfaces carve out space to confront colonial pasts and build communities? In their re-use of materials marked by colonial violence, they navigate ethical implications. We ask how they balance the necessity to situate materials within their historical context and the drive to rewrite emancipatory narratives out of sonic traces from colonial pasts.

Read more here: https://www.eyefilm.nl/en/programme/eye-international-conference-2023/839379