Feminist Interventions at ARLIS UK 2023- Part Two
Welcome to part two of my ARLIS adventure! If you haven’t already you can find day one of my notes and reflections here. Nonetheless, here is a quick recap to get you up to speed: As the Graduate Trainee for CILIP Scotland, I am fortunate enough to attend continued professional development activities and training in line with my own interests within the Library and Information sector. Having a background education in History of Art, my artistically inclined mind was immediately drawn to attend the Art Libraries Society Conference 2023, with the title of Generative Spaces: The Creative Powers of the Art Library. During day one, the presentations spoke to utilising the “spark” that Art Libraries and Librarians can support their users to find. Between day two and three, the theme apparent to me was a reframing and restructuring of the Art Library to champion a feminist-like attitude, which showed empathy and aimed to emphasise the missing narratives within collections. I hope you enjoy reading my reflections as much as I enjoyed attending ARLIS 2023- I hope to be back next year!
PRESENTATION
Serendipitous Discovery: The Art Library as Place for Creative Exploration
Stefanie Hilles and Rob Robbins, Arts and Humanities Librarian and Professor of Studio Art, Miami University.
Creativity and innovation in research strategies absolutely proliferated this entire conference, sometimes it’s the overlooked or supremely simple ideas that can be so mind-blowing (especially to a new professional)! This was certainly true for this presentation from Stefanie Hilles and Rob Robbins, faced with similar concerns of the preceding talks by Rosie Enys and Alexander Bell, they devised an information seeking strategy for arts students which too began with a spark! Browsing the stacks for serendipitous discovery.
Upon discovering that lesson plan examples outlining how to utilise the library were not available for art students, Stefanie and Rob worked together to devise a way to teach browsing. Students had a tendency to seek out information from the stacks, not browse, which limited their opportunity for serendipitous discovery.
Their lessons included students coming to the library, choosing a book and then swapping with another student. Then came time to figure out what the relationship between the chosen books was, it was an opportunity for chance encounters and finding connections. The second was Bookspine poetry, inspired by Nina Katchadorian. There were different iterations of the activity but essentially students collected books from the shelves, creating some sort of cohesive poem from the titles on the spines of the books- fairly simple and self-explanatory. And even better, something that can be done in any library! As I’m a frequent scroller on Library twitter, this concept is not new for me as Orkney Library do very well at this trend, you can find some examples here.
Students experienced unexpected creative trajectories in the stacks, coming up with meaningful and provocative concepts to inspire their creative practice. As the students do not immediately think of themselves as poets or writers, this practice allows them to shed any sort of expectation about what they’ll create. Completely uninhibited, the students are able to create without hesitation and broaden their vision.
This really interactive use of the space is lovely to hear about, especially because in almost every talk so far, faculty and lecturers have understood and supported the importance of the library in creative research. This cross-disciplinary approach to encouraging students to become regular service users comes as a pleasant add on to the wonderful innovation filling the libraries.
KEYNOTE
We’re in the Library! Welcoming Creative Practices, Sharing Responsibilities
Althea Greenan, Curator, Women’s Art Library, Goldsmiths.
Althea spoke to a feminist code of ethics when cataloguing the Women’s Art Library, this intervention challenges the status quo of the library, and this is informed by the content and users of the library. The library frames encounters with books as a two way exchange. Of the collection, she stresses the implication that the artists are both the builders and the subjects of the collection. She uses the simile of her ever changing desk, filled with publications and books waiting to be accessioned, as it’s like a shifting landscape. She stated that the happenstances are micro-transformative, like a spark. Sharing that the conception of the Women’s Art Library was a political crystallisation of celebrating women’s art practice.
The physical space of the library holistically creates community, and critically evokes a safe meeting space for critical work. The nature of the library residing within an academic institution means that there are many times the two ways of working counteract each other. The library as a grassroots organisation means that it prioritises access, advocates for marginalised practice in an institutional setting and tries to critically nurture creativity.
One major consideration which Althea shared that stuck with me was regarding collections and absence. She shares that the way in which they collect is intentional to avoid a simplified, reductive version of history- one that is particularly prevalent in the history of Women’s creative records. The gaps and chaotic-ness of the collection promote the feeling of disorientation, and in turn this is a reminder of the absences of the collection. An awareness of these missing pieces is crucial, and the only way to combat it is to create processes which invite what is missing. This was only a few of the concepts that caught my attention during the keynote, but ultimately hearing from Althea was one of the highlights of the conference for me.
KEYNOTE
Ingrid Pollard, Photographer, Media Artist, and Researcher.
Despite the fact that the conference was being held in Norwich, I was thrilled to hear from Artist Ingrid Pollard about her Glasgow International residency at Glasgow Women’s Library (one of our favourites here at CILIPS). As a multimedia artist, her practice relies on activism and documentary photography, socialising and producing work under a feminist verve. Similar to the sentiment of Althea before her, Ingrid interrogates the notion of who is included in the archive and who is absent, always making her interventions apparent. With a specific interest in how and where counterculture is depicted. If not in mainstream fashion magazines, where are certain unseen or challenging aspects of gender performed, and how can they be captured and kept for archives.
Within the Glasgow Women’s Library, there were a few challenges, such as the considerations and limitations it has as a listed building. Having obtained funding, they hired an archivist and curator to come in and examine the large poster and feminist publication archive. Recently within the CILIPS-sphere we’ve heard a lot about library walls coming to life, namely with thing such as Living walls for green libraries, which you can read about here. In Pollard’s example, the stacks come to life! Tracking down people captured and photographed within the feminist and radical activist archives of the GWL. Interviewing them years later and asking them to recall the scenario of the photograph and their thoughts about it now. There were protests about a whole plethora of issues including section 26, anti-apartheid and against police brutality. These images in the archives seem to chime with concerns of today, and protests that are still happening, regrettably we don’t have to look far. Pollard shares her evaluation that this cross fertilisation of activism is simply just people eager to make a difference to the world on the streets.
Linking back to Alexander’s talk the day before, this offers a context to an image that only shows so much within its frame. Asking the subjects to share their stories makes the archive relevant and leap out of the photo. Recordings of these interviews were then placed in little sound boxes in amongst the books in the stacks. Pollard said she thought of this as compressing time, allowing the subjects to meet themselves, creating a lively library. It also enlivens and activates a lot of the ideas, concerns and themes that the books on the shelf grapple with on their pages.
A nice way to conclude this reflection is with Pollard’s story about the volunteers who were moved so much by the exhibition they decided to become a part of it. The volunteers banded together to make boxes that would support people coming to terms with their sexuality, filled with supportive materials they had discovered through the exhibition. After the exhibition had wound down, the boxes became accessioned into the GWL collections. This artistic intervention into the Library space is moving and inspiring in its own way, and shows the infinite ways in which artists can use the library as subject to make work that speaks to the library.
PRESENTATION
Cognitive Stimulation Therapy at the National Art Library, V&A
Catriona Gourlay, Assistant Curator, National Art Library, V&A Museum.
This presentation started off with a very clear overview of the project, and the need for social care which improves health and wellbeing, and how Art libraries fit into this equation. For those living with Dementia, the Library can be a place to safely explore but which also carries elements of memory recall. The creativity of librarians, and artists books can be utilised to unlock memories of those living with Dementia, or alternatively simply just provide some stimulation and provide a much needed break for their carers. One of the reasons for the programme’s success is that the library is a safe public space and not a clinical environment.
The sessions begin with some gentle introductions, allowing participants to become comfortable in the space, and for facilitators to assess their audience. Then 10-12 objects are gently introduced to the group, allowing them to come to terms with what they are being asked to look at. One important thing that Catriona notes is that Cognitive Stimulation Therapy questions are opinion based, not factual. Meaning that each element of the session has to be catered to the audience with questions such as “does it remind you of anything,” or “does it belong in the library.” It is not unusual to get into a habit of asking about the past however, Catriona shares that information about the past normally has been over-rehearsed by the participant meaning that their ability to recall it is tricky. So again asking questions, this time prompted by War Artist Paul Nash, such as “where would you advise a young family to go on holiday,” is less aimed but may lead to holistic memory recall. Artists Books, which are an obvious choice for an Art library, can be used to stimulate imaginative responses from participants. With books such as You are Here by Katherine Harmon, which is worn around the map and contains a fold-out map, this transports the reader and can provide solid stimulation. I thought that this was a really thoughtful presentation from Catriona which laid out how some of the basic elements of an Art library can be reframed to cater to an audience with very specific requirements and accessibility needs.
Whilst every single presentation at 2023’s ARLIS UK & I conference was thoroughly provoking and and extremely interesting, I couldn’t possibly write about every single one. For instance the great presentation about the Sound Library from Will Rene, and the insights into how a Comic Book Library in Qatar is fighting self-censorship, or the grammatical nuances of Martha Rosler Library. I’d say the conference gave really great insight into the value and work of an Art Librarian, and a lot of the critical thinking and creative approaches could be translated and used in any Library. I’m really grateful to my team for allowing me the time and support to attend this event!