PLEXUS

Every December 1st since 1988 we commemorate the fight against HIV/AIDS disease and the social stigmatization suffered by HIV+ people. Coinciding with this date we visit three archival cases on documenting and recovering the memory of this health and social crisis started in 1981. The first experience leads us to Sweden.   The Face of AIDS Film Archive  is an online film archive consisting of almost 800 hours of documentary film material about the global HIV and AIDS epidemic. The archive is based at Karolinska Institutet University Library in Stockholm, Sweden. The largest part of the collection consists of film director  Staffan Hildebrand’s  documentation of the AIDS epidemic 1986-2021. The archive also contains contributions from researchers, activists and others involved in the HIV response. Online exhibitions with essays and selected films on specific themes are regularly published on the website. The “Face of AIDS Timeline 1981-2017” contains a collection of s...

In March 2024 the ICA General Secretariat, leaded by Carlos Serrano Vásquez, launched the idea of creating a working group about sex-affective and gender diversity (SAGD) archives and archivists. The group started working in the elaboration of an Initial Statement Document to define the sense, missions and goals of the Group. After two months of meetings and discussions, the final version of the initial document  and the whole group were presented in a webinar held Thursday, June 27th. With the document, we could enjoy also with the presentation of three initiatives related to LGBTQ+ archives & archivists worldwide. Alejandro de la Fuente began the pannel presenting  Yeguas del Apocalipsis  (Apocalypse's Mares), a digital archive resuming the life and work of Pedro Lemebel, a key figure in art and politics in Chile in the last quarter of the 20th century. The second one, Big Tata Paris, was presented by Sam Bourcier. Big Tata  defines itself as the first network ...