Pan Lu, The (Im)possibilities of Art Archives: Theory and Experience in/from Asia

本书分为三个部分。

第一部分关于新档案库的诞生及其过程。在此我们可以窥见这些独立的亚洲艺术档案库在何种历史背景和动力的驱动下诞生。

第二部分则收录那些使用档案库概念或/ 和内容进行艺术及展览实践的艺术家和策展人的自述，或者是学者对这些作品/ 展览的分析。这部分也是最有可能产生档案理论的部分，因而所占的篇幅最大。

第三部分有关社群参与及集体制作的档案库。在这部分我们可以看到档案库如何通过新媒体和图像成为一种连结公众和社群的空间。档案库在此以一种自下而上的方式不断生长，成为群体的自我肖像。章节的提供者生活和工作于亚洲不同城市，他们来自北京、广州、香港、台北、台南、新加坡、首尔、吉隆坡、东京、仙台、名古屋、马尼拉、泗水和新德里。

This edited volume aims to fill the gap in the research, juxtaposition, and focused discussions in the existing literature on art archives in Asia. Most of the archives included in the book are independent and initiated by individuals, folk groups, or non-profit organizations. In this book, one can trace the dynamics and self-generative capacity in this particular historical and cultural milieu through these “alternative” archives and through the practices of artists and curators who apply their specific understanding of archive to their works. Many chapters resonate with each other in that they capture the experiences shared by many places in Asia. Those experiences could have resulted from the encounter with the Western idea of archive, the influence of the colonial experience, or a memory crisis triggered by the rapid transformation of media, and may serve as a basis for producing archive theories in/from Asia. The book provides an opportunity for the archives in Asia and those who work around them to recognize one another, understand what their colleagues in archival work do, how they do it and what else there is for them to do.

Since 2018, 51 Personae has published nearly 20 different independent publications and art books. Starting from 2023, it will further expand the variety of bilingual books in addition to Chinese-language books, aiming to promote cross-cultural and cross-geopolitical exchanges through the medium of books. Apart from participating in art book exhibitions in China and around the world, 51 Personae consciously establishes connections with independent bookstores to form a network that opposes the monopoly of book sales platforms. Additionally, it has also experimented with presenting the content of the publications in different social contexts through exhibitions.One of their recent exhibitions "Le Livre des Limites" was held from March to May 2023 at the Duolun Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai