Is it easy to find things in your archive? Is there a recent list and/or inventory? Have steps already been taken to survey the archive? If the answer to these three questions is ‘no’, it is recommended to organise and describe your archive and make it accessible to the general public. Think about your vision for the archive. Note the steps you want to take, what your motivation is and what goals you wish to achieve. Thinking about this, talking to each other about it and keeping a record of your conclusions will give you something to refer back to throughout the process. It will motivate you to take further steps.
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The first step is to actually go and find your archive. Often, archives are kept in various rooms or locations, such as in your office or studio. This dispersal makes it more difficult to keep track of your archive, so that you no longer know what you have kept. You may also lose items. In many cases, people do not keep a clear track of their archives, and they are only partly accessible. So the first step is to find your archive and survey it.
Once you have determined where the archive is stored, make an overall list of what is stored in which location or room. You can do this with a short summary list that briefly states the contents, or ideally a placement list. A placement list gives a concise description of the archive items in the order that they are classified, to gain a general overview of the archive in the various rooms where it is located. Additionally, it makes it possible to dip into a few parts of the archive for a deeper investigation of the contents, condition and (potential) significance of the archive.
The placement list gives you a first impression of what has been preserved and makes it possible to set priorities. Open the cupboards, drawers, boxes, etc. and explore the contents. Be aware of notes and labels, as these may contain valuable information. It is certainly not necessary to look at all the items one by one at this stage.
Note the following information for each section, drawer, cupboard or box:
TIP: Take the time to write down every place where you have stored your archive and the accompanying materials, whether physical or digital.
TIP: Gather the archive into one central location to tackle it. That helps you keep track, and it reduces the chance of anything getting lost. Be prepared with a few basic necessities such as a pen, pencil and paper to make notes quickly, a computer to process the information in a structured manner (using Excel, for example) and possibly Post-it notes or labels. Also ensure you have enough space to get started and a sturdy table to work on.
Archive artist's duo Balder and Mi Van Landuyt. Photo: CKV (2024).
The artistic legacy of the visual artist’s Balder and Mi Van Landuyt
CKV is in discussions with artist Mi Van Landuyt to jointly explore the various possibilities for the sustainable accessibility of the legacy of Balder and Mi Van Landuyt. To gain a clear picture of the preserved material, we compiled a placement list. This overview helps to justify the next steps for the legacy, map out the needs, and make some concrete decisions.
(Nele Luyts – CKV)
Interested to read more? Go to the next page: Organising and describing your archive.