iniva is delighted to announce a significant milestone in its journey as it approaches its 30-year anniversary. In alignment with its mission to foster and showcase radical and emerging contemporary artistic practice, with a specific emphasis on Global Majority, African, Asian, and Caribbean diaspora perspectives, iniva has been the proud recipient of an Archives Revealed grant.
Thanks to this grant, iniva has successfully catalogued four pivotal collections from its institutional archives. This accomplishment was made possible through the dedicated efforts of iniva’s team and volunteers. These four collections, including the Veil touring exhibition, iniva’s Governance and Early Constitution files, iniva’s Founding Symposium ‘A New Internationalism,’ and X-Space, will soon be accessible to the public through iniva’s new online archive catalogue.
Niamh Glanville-Frayne in Stuart Hall Library with Third Text Journal, 2022
Cataloguing the Collections
Niamh Glanville-Frayne, Cataloguing Archivist at iniva, played a central role in this achievement. Over the past year, she organised and catalogued these collections, enabling iniva to take control of how it represents its collections and the people associated with them.
Niamh also conducted informal interviews with key figures such as curators David A. Bailey, Jananne Al-Ani and Zineb Sedira for the Veil exhibition collection; photographer Sunil Gupta and Gary Stewart for the Governance and Early Constitution collection and X-Space collection respectively. These interviews have added invaluable context to the archive, enriching the catalogue entries and offering diverse perspectives on the collections and their narratives.
To introduce these newly catalogued collections to the public, Niamh hosted a series of ‘show and tell’ talks. These sessions allowed participants to view selected records from each collection, all the while benefiting from Niamh’s insights and engaging in open discussions about the historical and socio-political significance of these materials.
X-Space Collection from iniva’s archive
Archives Accessible to All
iniva is committed to ensuring that the archive is accessible to a broad spectrum of users. The catalogue employs clear and accessible language, making it user-friendly even for those unfamiliar with archives. The catalogue software, Epexio, provides straightforward navigation, further ensuring that users can effortlessly engage with the materials.
As part of the Archives Revealed project, iniva took a moment to reflect on its position as an institution championing radical, non-Western, and decolonial artistic practices. This undertaking involved reaching out to individuals connected to the collections, conducting interviews to capture their recollections and perspectives. This resource serves as an accessible entry point for diverse audiences, enriches research and academic knowledge, and uncovers hidden art histories, thereby showcasing the pioneering and activist work of iniva. Iniva’s aspiration is that it will inspire a younger generation of artists and creatives.
This exciting project will culminate in November 2023 when the new catalogue will be launched and made accessible on iniva’s website: www.iniva.epexio.com