Archival Futures. Born Digital Architecture Media: Annet Dekker Interviewed by Federica Goffi

The interview by Federica Goffi with curator and researcher Annet Dekker focused on the archival futures of born digital media. Dekker discussed her 2014–2016 collaboration with Het Nieuwe Instituut (HNI), through the speculative project: New Archive Interpretations, which probed into the digital archive as a system of how processes and individuals influence what can and cannot be seen, accessed, distributed, and re-used. Dekker discussed topics such as the dynamic and stable nature of physical and digital archives; the interdependence between born digital media and software and its impact on conservation; the relation between co-production and authorship; and the vital curatorial questions regarding inclusion/exclusion, omission/promotion of materials. Dekker warns about dark archives and the complexity of technical infrastructures and metadata reflecting ideological constructs and socio-cultural views. The interview questioned whether living digital archives can blur the line between the projective dimension of materials and retrospective conservation.