Call for papers: Audiovisual archives and their twofold role of preserving and showcasing - practices, uses, and new avenues of visibility for Latin America archives
ISSN 2316-9230
The archival turn in Human and Social Sciences in Latin America has transformed the local audiovisual research in the past decades. This is true for both research objects and methodologies and its focus on preserving and developing new record series. This renewed impetus is also a response to the work of new social actors, whose political agendas are concerned with building their own history and with new archives to come. This, in turn, challenges the hierarchy of current institutions and their configurations of archivable productions.
The present special session proposal comes into being in light of the state of emergency of several audiovisual archives in Latin-American countries. The lack of a film library in Argentina, and the dire situation of the Brazilian Cinematheque and other archives highlight the urgency and the pressing need for preserving our memories, and for – likewise – allowing them to be scrutinized.
On the other hand, the digital turn in the production of audiovisual materials, as well in the digitization of archives, also brings about new challenges for organizations, researchers, directors, and artists alike. A lot still remains to be researched, studied, and disseminated on best solutions for storing, cataloging, and preserving archives.
We live in a world where image and information are sources of uncertainty and mistrust. Democratically living alongside images is not at all comfortable. Both image and democracy retain some unfinishedness, some discontinuities, which require of us the recurring work of connecting and reconnecting one image to the next. They impose on us the challenge of assemblage and imagination, both needed so that new memories and historical narratives can circulate freely and grow in visibility.
Moreover, the present special session proposal consolidates the work of research networks in Latin America. Headed by the Asociación Argentina de Estudios de Cine y Audiovisual (AsAECA) and the Sociedade Brasileira de Estudos de Cinema e Audiovisual (SOCINE), we intend to promote the exchange and the cooperation on studies about the current situation of audiovisual archives, to deepen our understanding of the problems and challenges specific to our context, as well as to imagine new futures in the preservation of our memories and history. How can distinct aesthetic practices with audiovisual archives reinstate historical questions over time? Thus, we call for papers that entail discussions in connection with the following topics:
- Current situation of archives in Latin America: public policies, conservation, and broadcasting practices;
- Essay proposals and policies in contemporary audiovisual productions;
- Audio archives, possibilities, and aesthetical avenues;
- Homemade and private archives: affective uses and political perspectives;
- Digital archives: storage, catalog, and maintenance.
The deadline for article submissions is March 26, 2022, and this special session will be published in Rebeca's 23 edition, Jul-Dec, 2022. Norms and submissions: https://rebeca.socine.org.br/1/about/submissions.
Coordinators:
Ana Broitman,
Andréa França,
Cecilia Nuria Gil Mariño.
