How artists have devised creative solutions to the taxonomic constraints of the archive

This critical anthology addresses three often-overlooked issues facing archival organizations: the question of inclusion in or exclusion from the archive; the loss of individuality and specificity in the archive; the danger of homogenization; and the risk that archiving may foster a form of pigeonholing. Since the archive is a fundamental symbolic entity, on the basis of which we organize our lives, the past, the present and the future, these issues require exploration.

Productive Archiving proposes that artistic treatments of (and interventions in) archives can offer innovative ways to foster new connections and ways of thinking and organizing.

Authors include Aleida Assmann, Annet Dekker, Lars Ebert, Sebastián Díaz Morales, Monika Huber, William Kentridge, Pablo Lerma, Inge Meijer, Santu Mofokeng, Merapi Obermayer, Walid Raad, Ana Paula Saab, Drew Sawyer, Carla Subrizi, Marjan Teeuwen, Daria Tuminas, and Jeffrey Wallen.

Visual essays by Sebastían Díaz Morales, Monika Huber, William Kentridge, Pablo Lerma, Inge Meijer, Marjan Teeuwen and Santu Mofokeng.

Edited with introduction by Ernst van Alphen

Designed by Lotte Lara Schröder

Published by Valiz, 2023

Softcover, 272 pages, b&w, 6.75 × 9.5 inches

ISBN: 978-9-49-324616-4