Where We Belong: Artists in the Archive

The South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) will consider how collaboration between artists and archives can create a platform for overlooked histories and effectively counteract misrepresentations, in the media and elsewhere, of immigrant and minority communities. During a year-long discovery process, a multidisciplinary cohort of five South Asian American artists will explore how SAADA's archival materials can inform new works—including visual art, music, and dance—that grapple with questions of identity and belonging. At the outset of the project, Dr. Michelle Caswell, SAADA co-founder and assistant professor of archival studies at UCLA, will interview the artists about their perceptions of bias towards them. The results of the exploration will be shared with the public through a website and a day-long conference at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, where the artists will present prototypes of their new works. The project's findings will lay the foundation for SAADA's future community-engagement initiatives, such as the possible development of a digital artist-in-residence program.