In search of The Community…

Curatorial Note by the Cohort

There has been tension; a storm of questions before we can settle down and calmly engage with the unheard histories, make some sense of them, and create new experiences. Tension between the interchanging roles of an artist and the archivist. The tension between the researcher’s individualistic aspirations and the unspoken responsibility of the archive toward collective memory-keeping. The tension between the racing world and the slow form of storytelling. Imagine the tensed movement of a yin-yang before it finds its balance!

This has been the experience of curating and holding the space at Constructing Personal Archives 2024. Some projects started as an intensely personal means of documenting an experience or a practice, and have subsequently opened up to include collective memories and engaging with what the larger impact of the archive could be. Some projects have followed the opposite trajectory, peeling back layers to engage emotionally with difficult questions of personal identity and positionality. The overarching processes of archiving and curating engagement around these histories have uncovered narratives that have been pushed back into the subconscious realm of society, or been difficult to put forward in an isolating world. Not that these experiences are unique to the CPA 2024 program… but they demand telling nonetheless, even if it is only to remember. To remember is to resist.

Thus, we are searching for “the community” that resonates with our reflections and wants to join us in this journey of unexpected discoveries. We believe it is out there! The community that is resisting erasure, ensuring that the histories, voices, and struggles that shape our realities are not lost in the noise of dominant narratives. We invite you to the CPA 2024 Public Showcase and engage with the experiences and relationships of eleven archiving projects from Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.