Artist files collections tend to grow somewhat organically, through passive collecting by libraries – e.g. filing the ephemera mailed out by galleries – or by clipping and filing art-related content from newspapers. Although the result can be a broad representation of artistic activity, it can also reflect all kinds of systemic biases in the art world.
In a recent blog post, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) describes an intervention into their artist file collection by Toronto-based feminist working group EMILIA-AMALIA.
Read more here: A Living Library: Feminist collective EMILIA-AMALIA dives into the archives to activate and broaden the AGO’s Artist Files Collection.
Amy Furness is the Rosamond Ivey Special Collections Archivist and Head of Library & Archives at the Art Gallery of Ontario.