NNAQH ▰ Blog: ACTIVATING QUEER ARCHIVES
Home ▰ About ▰ News ▰ Blog ▰ Contact ▰ LGBTQ+ archives
While the first conference in Helsinki focused on the topic of trust, and the second conference in Bergen discussed the transnational aspects of archival work, in Gothenburg it was time to talk about ”archivism” – that is, archiving as a form of activism. This theme was a common thread in the presentations and discussions throughout the day. Together we reflected on questions such as, who do we collect for and why, and how do we activate our archives?
At 9 am on Saturday morning the conference was opened with welcoming words by Mia Sundkvist from QRAB and Runar Jordåen from Skeivt Arkiv representing NNAQH. After their welcoming words the audience was in for an unexpected but lovely surprise, as members of Queerorkestern took the stage to perform “Das lila Lied” (The Lavender song) a song from 1920’s Germany. The performance had just the energy that was needed for the long day of discussions ahead!
After wild applause it was time for opening address by Tiina Pursiainen Rosenberg. Rosenberg talked beautifully about the need to safeguard queer heritage for future generations and the active part that archives play in this mission. She shared the moment when she personally realized that archives are not just dusty cellars where things are stored indefinitely – archiving is an active process where decisions about what to save and what not to save are constantly made. Rosenberg sees archiving as a political obligation and thinks that one needs to have some sense of activism when they do the work of deciding what is collected and preserved. She also reminded us that we need to stay critical towards this process and be aware of what kind of mindsets affect us when we make these decisions.
The first panel of the day brought together representatives from four Swedish archives and museums: The Swedish Archive for Queer Moving Images (SAQMI), the Archives and Library of the Queer Movement (QRAB), the Archive of Pink Noises and the Unstraight Museum. Unfortunately the representative of Homografiska museum could not attend. The discussion was moderated by Viktorija Kolbešnikova and Augustas Čičelis from išgirsti Queer Archive in Lithuania.
The panelists shared their methods of activating their archives and reaching out to the communities around them. The importance of access was discussed and a shared view was that it’s not enough to collect things and stories – those stories also need to be told and heard. Olov Kriström from QRAB pointed out that outreach doesn’t only apply to how we communicate outwards, but also how we involve queer communities in creating our archives. Pop-up exhibitions, lectures, open databases, live streams, movie nights, memory cafes and interviews are some ways in which these Swedish archives open windows to their archives and make archiving a shared effort.
The second half of the conference started with a speech by Madina Tlostanova from Linköping University. Tlostanova talked about archives and decolonization, and about the generative role of archives in politically imagining the future. Tlostanova also spoke about the contradictory nature of archives especially in regions, where much of the history of marginalized communities has been erased by, for instance, imperial Soviet censorship, and where archives can typically not be trusted.
Tlostanova began her presentation with an artwork from the Chechen artist Aslan Goisum, featuring a set of traditional vases made partially or entirely from glass. These vases referenced to a museum technique where a fragment of a broken object is complemented with glass to illustrate the whole which the fragment has once been part of. Vases of glass only suggest that sometimes there is not so much as a fragment left, and only imagination can reconstruct lost stories. This can be seen as a reference to using political imagination in documenting marginalized communities whose histories have been erased. This sparked a conversation among participants about the use of imagination or even fabulation and what kind of role it can play in history writing. Tlostanova pointed out that sometimes art is the only way to write history that has been lost.
This thought brought us to the theme of the next presentations, where queer history was explored through artistic practise. Conny Karlsson Lundgren presented The Gothenburg Affairs, a piece that is based on archival material of a trial in the 1930’s against a circle of homosexual men in Gothenburg. The project, which combines film, text, image and performance, is a beautiful example on how art can bring historical stories to life in a way academic research can’t. The archive material was produced in the setting of a criminal investigation, but Karlsson Lundgren used it to recreate the story as something beautiful and empowering. Next, Sam Hultin presented their project Eva-Lisas Monument, which highlights the life of Eva-Lisa Bengtson, a Swedish trans pioneer and lesbian activist. Eva-Lisas Monument is based on an extensive archive that Eva-Lisa left behind. Guided walking tours, collective readings and a soon-to-be-published book create the monument celebrating Eva-Lisas life and work.
In the end of the conference we moved on to more practical matters with a presentation that led us to reflect on the future of the NNAQH network. Hannes Hacke from Berlin introduced us to QueerSearch, an umbrella organization of German-speaking queer archives, libraries or collections, which is aiming to develop a joint online collection database connecting queer historical materials in different archives. This presentation certainly gave participants food for thought and ideas for the future of NNAQH.
As this last of a series of three conferences came to an end, it was clearly a shared wish that collaboration will continue. What form that collaboration will take, remains to be seen. And for the participants this was not yet the end of the day – in the evening we got to enjoy an amazing, wild and beautiful variety show by the Queerorkestern, which we had already briefly met in the morning. The show left us all amazed and inspired. Those who still had some energy left after a long day had the privilege of visiting SAQMIs cozy headquarters for a night cap.
Written by Niklas, the secretary of the Friends of Queer History association, as well as a museum worker and queer historian from Finland.