Archiving Plurality: A Collaborative Process

Visual Artists’ News Sheet | January – February 2025

Alessia Cargnelli discusses a recent research project and publication commissioned by NIVAL at NCAD.

In January 2023, I began an exciting post-doctorate in one of my favourite places to conduct art-related research: the National Irish Visual Arts Library. Based in NCAD, NIVAL is accessible to anybody, free of charge, and is sustained through voluntary contributions from artists, designers, arts organisations, and arts professionals. One of the organisation’s key characteristics is its ‘democratic approach’ which informs their collections and access.

This democratic approach is reflected in their acquisition policies: when archiving raw materials, there is no judgement on artistic ‘quality’, proficiency, or reputation of artists and designers; everyone is equally valued. Nonetheless, these efforts do not always ensure equity, and despite the policies in place, NIVAL recognizes a lack of representation in certain aspects of their collection, particularly around artists and designers coming from diverse ethnic, cultural, gender backgrounds and nationalities.

It is from this key acknowledgement that my research began. Coming from a feminist-informed and collective-led practice, I was conscious of the importance (and difficulties) in challenging the traditional hierarchies between the researcher and subject of the research. Recognising that diversity projects can sometimes be perceived as tokenistic, I decided to embed a participatory-led methodology in the research. To tackle inequality of representation, it is imperative to give agency to the subjects of the research, providing them with the tools to directly shape the project.

This methodology also creates the conditions in which the commissioning institution can learn from the people they have excluded. I involved more than 30 artists and designers who self-identify as coming from diverse ethnic, cultural, gender backgrounds and nationalities, and who are living across the island of Ireland. Participants were selected through a publicly advertised open call and paid for their time.

Starting from the key question, ‘How to practice the right to belong?’, a series of focus groups explored three macro themes: site, language, and collections. A subsequent printed publication presented a research report on the data collected during these gatherings, along with a set of co-authored short-term and long-terms propositions for more accessible and inclusive collections. Through participant quotes, the report captures the array of contributions – at time contradictory and uncomfortable – around feelings of belonging, while exploring how personal identities intersect with the social constructs of race, ethnicity, gender, and how this in turn relates to creative practice and its relationship with institutions.

Reflecting on her experience as research participant, Limerick-based artist Karen Rodrigues Enokibara said: ‘I was a little apprehensive at first as some of the subjects weren’t the kind I was used to discussing so profoundly, however conversations flowed and in the end I was able to meet people who were in a similar conundrum as myself and returned home full of hope!’ Ultimately, the focus groups acted as a catalyst for making space and giving voice to the ‘missing people’, as Rosi Braidotti described them – individuals ‘whose knowledge never made it into the official cartographies.’

While research recommendations may seem specific to NIVAL, these discussion points are extremely useful for all researchers working in libraries, archives, and the creative sectors. The publication aims to instigate future projects, research, and perhaps better practices across the arts and beyond.

As part of the publication, I commissioned essays by teresa cisneros, Sara Damaris Muthi, Bojana Janković, and Sophie Mak-Schram – arts professionals with interests in EDI scholarship, colonial practices, and direct experiences of migration, within and beyond the island of Ireland. The variety and richness of their approaches add additional depth to the study, further expanding this critical conversation at individual, collective, and institutional levels.

Alessia Cargnelli is a visual artist and researcher based in Belfast. Archiving Plurality: A Collaborative Process was supported by the Arts Council’s Capacity Building Support Scheme and NCAD, through the Edward Murphy Bequest and the Art Research Development Office. It can be purchased in printed form by contacting nivalinfo@ncad.ie or can be downloaded for free from our website.