DeComposing the Archive: Art, Violence, and Responsibility 

What does artistic practice tell us about colonialism — and what does colonialism tell us about artistic practice? This twofold question forms the starting point of this workshop. For some years now, the archive itself has become the focus of artistic practice—as an institution that is shaped by imperialist interests and perpetuates hierarchies of knowledge and bodies. This workshop explores the ways in which artistic practice can deal with images and sounds from the (colonial) archives and address questions of memory, representation, violence, and ethical responsibility.

Dialogues between archivists, scholars, and artists illuminate perspectives on the potential of artistic approaches to sensitive images and sounds, many of which were made in the context of violence. 

Central to this workshop are questions of positionality, as well as the necessity and possibility of transforming archives, including the repatriation of collections and establishing alternative archiving practices. Closing out the discussion are two examples of decolonizing approaches to the colonial archive: a presentation of Filipa César’s film Speel Reel! (2017) and a concert by Christian Rosales Fonseca.