The Office for Archival Review (OAR)
Exhibition
August 15 – August 21, 2009
Opening on Saturday August 15, 3pm-5pm, in the presence of the artist-researchers
Project Description
The Office for Archival Review is a group of artist-researchers that seeks to understand archival practices through on-site research projects. Employing a hands-on approach, the OAR’s production considers the role, relevance, and material possibilities of an archive by using this material as a site of interaction, exchange and production. Confronted with an ever-growing mass of historical material, Centre des arts actuels Skol recruited the expertise of the OAR to conduct an investigation of their programming archives. In turn, the OAR’s process questions strategies of record keeping and self-preservation within the context of an artist-run centre: accumulation, reduction, preservation and destruction.
Emily Pelstring, Product Transformation Specialist, reduces surplus information by reshaping old documents. Anne-Marie Proulx, Researcher and Collection Manager, creates files noting each person in the archives. Maria Raponi, Structures Specialist, creates blueprints and rebuilds sturctural systems for information. Sabrina Russo, Documentation Manager, reinserts depth into digital information and imagery. karen elaine spencer, Reappropriation Specialist, assesses and streamlines archives to ensure continued activity. Jasia Stuart, Information Officer, creates inventories and cross-links records. Karen Zalamea, Reconstruction Specialist, tests the accuracy of photographic documentation through refabrication. Anne Bertrand, Artistic Coordinator at Skol, collects from the inside.
The Office for Archival Review is coordinated by Sabrina Russo and Karen Zalamea as part of the Skool summer programming at Centre des arts actuels Skol.
Keys