Archives and endurance: a roundtable discussion

Book chapter

Beauchamp-Byrd, M.J., Grant, C., Kokoli, A., Klorman Eraqi, N., Sarathy, J., Salter, G., deSouza, A., Webb-Ingall, E., Ohadi-Hamadani, M., Spencer, C. and Tobin, A. 2026. Archives and endurance: a roundtable discussion. in: Ohadi-Hamadani, M., Spencer, C. and Tobin, A. (ed.) Grassroots Artmaking: Political Struggle and Activist Art in the UK, 1960–Present Bloomsbury Visual Arts. pp. 151-172
Chapter titleArchives and endurance: a roundtable discussion
AuthorsBeauchamp-Byrd, M.J., Grant, C., Kokoli, A., Klorman Eraqi, N., Sarathy, J., Salter, G., deSouza, A., Webb-Ingall, E., Ohadi-Hamadani, M., Spencer, C. and Tobin, A.
Abstract

Interweaving the perspectives of eight contributors who share a range of experiences with archives from founders and creators to users and researchers, this roundtable discussion explores the dynamic connections that link artistic and creative practice; different forms of grassroots organizing; and the formation, care, maintenance and use of archives. Rather than a static or closed institutional repository, archives emerge through this discussion as crucial resources for art production and activism alike, providing connections with previous initiatives and campaigns, as well as future-oriented, embodied, and dialogic modes of engagement. At the same time, the participants consider the vulnerability and potential co-option of archives, particularly in a context of austerity politics, neoliberalism, digitization and AI, and the rise of far-right extremism, while attending to the dynamics of surveillance and control involved in processes of institutionalisation.

KeywordsArchives; Austerity; Activism; Black Arts Movement; BLK Movement; Diaspora; Feminism; Documentation; Institutions; Art; Organising
Sustainable Development Goals5 Gender equality
10 Reduced inequalities
16 Peace, justice and strong institutions
4 Quality education
Middlesex University ThemeCreativity, Culture & Enterprise
Research GroupCREATE/Feminisms cluster
Page range151-172
Book titleGrassroots Artmaking: Political Struggle and Activist Art in the UK, 1960–Present
EditorsOhadi-Hamadani, M., Spencer, C. and Tobin, A.
PublisherBloomsbury Visual Arts
Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN
Paperback9781350453661
Hardcover9781350453630
Electronic9781350453647
Electronic9781350453654
Electronic9781350453623
Publication dates
Online25 Mar 2026
Print23 Jul 2026
Publication process dates
Accepted18 Feb 2025
Deposited22 Oct 2025
Output statusPublished
Publisher's version
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Open
Accepted author manuscript
File Access Level
Restricted
Copyright Statement

Copyright © Mora J. Beauchamp-Byrd. Catherine Grant. Alexandra Kokoli. Na’ama Klorman Eraqi. Jennifer Sarathy. Gregory Salter. Al-An deSouza,. Ed Webb-Ingall. Maryam Ohadi-Hamadani. Catherine Spencer. Amy Tobin. Maryam Ohadi-Hamadani, Catherine Spencer and Amy Tobin 2026.
This chapter is published open access subject to a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0). You may re-use, distribute, and reproduce this work in any medium for non-commercial purposes, provided you give attribution to the copyright holder and the publisher and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence.

Additional information

The ebook edition of this book is available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by UKRI.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350453623.ch-10
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