ArchivorumArk
PROJECT
November 2023–September 2025
ArchivorumArk is a collaborative project by Archivorum, Galleria Continua and Fondazione Antonio Ratti that aims to preserve and disseminate artists‘ archives, promote international collaboration, support young researchers in their work with digital archives, and encourage the valorization of artists’ archives as part of the cultural heritage. In a collaborative synergy, the three institutions involved will carry out a series of activities that reinterpret archival practices as dynamic and relational systems, based not only on the collection and reorganization of materials, but also on the reciprocity of exchanges, with a focus on the collective and processual dimension of the work. The project is also made possible thanks to the support of the European Union's Creative Europe program.
With the aim of developing new perspectives on archives, Archivorum, through a grant, offered the opportunity to work on the digital archives of three international female artists, in a shared effort that aims to identify the main problematics of this work, to develop innovative ways to breathe new life into the practice and strengthen the relationship between artist and archivist, and to produce a critical publication. The researchers involved are Stephen Biegel, working on Belén Uriel's archive, Anaïs Auger-Mathurin, on Nil Yalter's, and Christianna Asprouli, on Babs Haenen's. The different stages of their work can be followed thanks to the weekly blog on the ArchivorumArk website.
Fondazione Antonio Ratti intertwines its reflection on archives with the historical program of CSAV - Artists' Research Laboratory. Starting with the publications collectively made by the young artists at the end of each edition of the residency, the intention is to propose the editorial format as one of the possible re-elaborations of an archive - which, in this case, is the archive of an experience of collective growth and experimentation, closely linked to the spatial and temporal circumstances and to the synergy of the participants. Therefore, the residents of è ora di alzarsi and Microclima Variabile - respectively XXVII and XXVIII editions of CSAV - have been invited to design their own content starting from a reflection on archival practices, and to experiment with the most appropriate ways to return an archive in a vital and creative way. The work on publications is complemented by public presentations and meetings with young researchers.