Table Of ContentPE
etX
eH
r
LI
eB
stI
eT
rI
N
G
T
H
E
A
R
C
H
I
V
E
Routledge Studies in Archives
EXHIBITING THE ARCHIVE
SPACE, ENCOUNTER, AND EXPERIENCE
Peter Lester
Exhibiting the Archive
Exhibiting the Archive examines the role that exhibition plays in archives and
analyses the impact they are understood to have on how users and visitors
experience the archive.
Drawing on research conducted in Europe, North America and Australia, the
book analyses the key theoretical and social influences on exhibition-making in
archives today and discusses the role of exhibitions in the archives of tomor-
row. This is the first in-depth study to consider exhibition as more than
outreach or advocacy: it frames exhibition as an encounter with archives and
with people, and interprets it as a mechanism for change within the archive.
Against a backdrop of increasing digital activity, Lester asks what experience
within the physical space of the archive could be. Drawing on ideas of spati-
ality and embodiment, as well as social justice and activism, Lester considers
the role of exhibitions within the physical archive and the part they can play
in reshaping how experience is understood to happen within it.
Exhibiting the Archive offers a new perspective on the archive that will be
of interest to academics and students engaged in the study of archives and
records. The discussions of cutting-edge practice offer new insights into how
exhibitions are conceived and made, and will therefore be of interest to prac-
titioners around the world.
Peter Lester is a researcher and archivist. He recently completed his PhD
at the School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester. His research
interests focus on the exhibition and display of archives, encounters with
archival material and the design and experience of archival spaces. He is also
a professionally qualified archivist with over ten years’ experience in the UK
archives sector.
Routledge Studies in Archives
Series Editor: James Lowry
Routledge Studies in Archives publishes new research in archival studies. Recognising
the imperative for archival work in support of memory, identity construc-
tion, social justice, accountability, legal rights and historical understanding,
the series extends the disciplinary boundaries of archival studies. The works
in this series illustrate how archival studies intersects with the concerns and
methods of, and is increasingly intellectually in conversation with, other
fields.
Bringing together scholarship from diverse academic and cultural tradi-
tions and presenting the work of emerging and established scholars side by
side, the series promotes the exploration of the intellectual history of archi-
val science, the internationalisation of archival discourse and the building of
new archival theory. It sees the archival in personal, economic and political
activity, historically and digitally situated cultures, subcultures and move-
ments, technical and socio-technical systems, technological and infrastruc-
tural developments and in many other places.
Archival studies brings an historical perspective and unique expertise in
records creation, management and sustainability to questions, problems and
data challenges that lie at the heart of our knowledge about and ability to
tackle some of the most difficult dilemmas facing the world today, such as cli-
mate change, mass migration, and disinformation. Routledge Studies in Archives
is a platform for this work.
Routledge Studies in Archives
Series Editor: James Lowry
The following list includes only the most-recent titles to publish within
the series. A list of the full catalogue of titles is available at: https://www.
routledge.com/Routledge-Studies-in-Archives/book-series/RSARCH
Archives, Recordkeeping and Social Justice
Edited by David A. Wallace, Wendy M. Duff, Renée Saucier, and Andrew Flinn
Producing the Archival Body
Jamie A. Lee
Ghosts of Archive
Deconstructive Intersectionality and Praxis
Verne Harris
Urgent Archives
Enacting Liberatory Memory Work
Michelle Caswell
Archiving Caribbean Identity
Records, Community, and Memory
Edited by John A. Aarons, Jeannette A. Bastian, and Stanley H. Griffin
Exhibiting the Archive
Space, Encounter, and Experience
Peter Lester
Exhibiting the Archive
Space, Encounter, and Experience
Peter Lester
First published 2022
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Peter Lester
The right of Peter Lester to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-0-367-74625-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-74725-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-15919-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003159193
Typeset in Bembo
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
For my family
Contents
List of figures x
Acknowledgements xiv
List of Abbreviations xvi
Introduction 1
1 Conversations about Exhibitions 17
2 Spatial and Temporal Encounters 47
3 Experience in the Archive 70
4 Exhibition-Making in the Archive: Fragment, Context,
Performativity 83
5 Exhibitions as Sites of Activism: Reflecting, Challenging,
Harnessing 112
6 Archives+, Manchester: Reshaping Space 138
7 The Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen: Encountering
the Archive 174
Conclusion 204
Index 219
