Archive Inferno is an open, online and itinerant study group that runs 8 week curriculums organised and led by artist and writer Joshua Leon. Its intention is to develop and produce new strategies and knowledge by offering a communal space to dwell, think and feel through focused reading and research.
Its primary focus is to critically understand and simultaneously produce a concept for a poiesis of history situating this idea in the practice of considering how to care for, dream in, refuse narratives, repair wounds and reform infrastructures of the archive (institution) in the time of ecological, economic and social crises.
The study group situates itself in the contemporary tumultuous conditions reading these conditions of duress, and desires to create a space to spend time understanding how this duress impacts subjectivity in relation to the archive (institution), before seeking potential modes of joy, escape and imagination for working under such stress.
We will develop a thorough understanding of the history of the archive (institution) and archive theory before developing questions around what a poiesis of history could be, and how such a poiesis can produce new strategies for being.
Some of the key questions that will be discussed over the course of the curriculum are: How does poiesis allow us to intervene, interrupt, or communicate with history? Working within the idea of a poiesis of history how can we research and work with and for what has been forgotten, hidden, overlooked or erased in the archive (institution). How do we go about finding and listening to the documents that may not exist, or that are in peril? What is the role of imagination and the world of dreams in the archive (institution)? And how can we allow our imagination and dreams to interact with history as a method to transform and liberate the unseen, unspoken and unheard and potentially recalibrate the archive (institution)?
These questions will form the structure of the classes led by Joshua Leon, in which the group will work slowly in communion through assigned readings.
This study group is for anyone interested in critical theory, this includes; students, artists, curators, writers, thinkers, lost souls, producers, and friends.
Sessions will take place in English
Each student will receive a dedicated and downloadable reader for the course.
There are no desired outcomes, this is a space to grow intellectually and spend time developing critical thought.
Sessions take place online using Zoom, you will need a good wifi connection and a working webcam to take part. Sessions will take two and a half hours including some time for paired study and a short break. The programme requires active participation and you will need to feel comfortable engaging with screen-based exercises and conversations. No technical or digital expertise will be required, no specialist software will be used during the session. Please let us know if you have any access requirements so we can make sure to accommodate them.
register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkEhHfvJh82n8cmxxr5GhgOYx0ZdsFyU1cEW9T-bBFo6HimA/viewform?usp=sharing
For enquiries please email:
archiveinferno@gmail.com