International Conference

Reactivating Archives in Contemporary Art

2- 3 October 2025

NOVA FCSH + Online

Supported by the Leverhulme Trust and the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)

Keynote speakers:

Sara Callahan (Malmö University)

Graciela Carnevale (Argentinian artist, archivist and educator)

This international conference brings together researchers from diverse geographies and disciplines to discuss the production, use, articulation, and reinvention of archival materials in contemporary art. The event’s main objective is to problematize and reframe notions such as presence, visibility, access, neutrality, (re)appropriation, and transmission through critical and creative perspectives.

Exploring processes of montage, deconstruction, and reassemblage in contemporary art, and celebrating artistic projects based on archival research, the selected papers address topics such as the institutionalization of archives and the imposition of “official” histories; the role of affective memories and imagination in cultural production; activism against the erasure of identities and memories; and the challenges and strategies for managing artistic archives.

Registration is free via this form, for either in-person or online attendance.

Programme:
https://reactivatingarchives.wixsite.com/conference