From June 5 to 9, 2023, the International Council on Archives celebrated the fifth International Archives Week under the motto #ArchivesUnited (IAW2023).
In her online lecture at the "GLAM digital", the artist Ila Wingen intensively dealt with the central role of archives in the art world.
She sees the urgent need to preserve and promote the work of artists, particularly those whose contributions were not sufficiently documented, recognized, or archived during their lifetime.
She worries that many talented artists will be forgotten due to gaps in documentation within the institutionalized art system. From her point of view, this represents a significant loss to our cultural heritage.
She pointed out the knowledge gap between art and archive, that many artists unfortunately do not know how to effectively archive their works. This is usually the task of professional archivists. The challenge is to decide which works are of sufficient value to be preserved for the future.
She strongly advocated for an open archive system to identify and recognize hidden but valuable art. However, this requires the necessity of open discussions and the overcoming of prejudices in the archiving process.
During her lecture, in my opinion, she posed three central questions that artists, archivists, and the general public should deal with:
I can absolutely understand the goal and vision of Ila's work and research. She wants to establish and actively promote more effective and inclusive strategies for the archiving and dissemination of artistic works.
Fingers crossed!
Thank you Ila Wingen and Gilliane Kern for your impulses and food for thought. Amandine Cabrio and Sandra Becker for moderating. And Wikimedia CH and VSA–AAS for the exciting online event.