Behind the scenes of alternative archives in the Netherlands
Visitors to archives often encounter only the end results of the archival process. What goes on behind the scenes at an archive? What choices are made in selection and what is the effect of these choices?
These and other questions are the focus of this IHLIA exhibition in which curator Noah Littel aims to make visible this process at “alternative” archives, such as IHLIA, in the Netherlands, through various historical photographs and documents.
Alternative archives
Archives are not neutral repositories where tangible traces of history are simply preserved and made accessible. Selection always takes place during the process of archiving, and in practice it often leads to the exclusion of certain groups.
One response to this exclusion was the creation of “alternative archives. The initiators are committed to securing and preserving historical sources of groups whose heritage was not or hardly represented by traditional archival institutions, such as LGBTI+ people, women and people of color.
These promoters applied traditional archival methods but also looked for alternative ways to preserve their history and make it accessible. The archival institutions were closely linked to the social movements from which they emerged. Archivists’ choices then shaped the historiography of their movements.
No neutral storage areas
Nor are alternative archives neutral repositories, but the result of processes of selection. The formation of alternative archival collections has always been subject to debate, and archival institutions and their ever-growing collections have always been evolving.
The Archive in Development zooms in on several snapshots from the history of the Dutch Lesbian Archives, the Documentation Center for Gay Studies, and the International Information Center and Archive for the Women’s Movement (IIAV). In doing so, this exhibition simultaneously provides a glimpse into the past history of the current institutions IHLIA and Atria.
Location: IHLIA Plaza, Oosterdokskade 143, 3rd floor (OBA Oosterdok)
When: 22 February – 2 May 2022
Photo: A drink meeting with the theme of Lesbian theater in the Lesbian Archive Amsterdam. Loes Siegmund speaks (June 2, 1989). Photographer: Marian Bakker
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This exhibit also has a digital representation of the physical exhibit at IHLIA Outside the Box
More information: The exhibition was curated by Noah Littel (PhD student at Maastricht University) as part of the research project The Critical Visitor: Intersectional Approaches for Rethinking & Retooling Accessibility and Inclusivity in Heritage Spaces
A preview of the exhibition The archive in development: behind the scenes of alternative archives in the Netherlands was on display in Atria’s library in late 2021
Photography exhibition at IHLIA Plaza: Fabian Landeweee
