The main objective of the creation of the AGI was to gather the documents of the Spanish crown related to the processes of conquest and colonization of America. Those documents were intended to contribute to the writing of a history of the New World.
While not so long ago the idea of the archive presupposed the possibility of securing specific information through stored documents to control a historical narrative, today, the notion of the archive has expanded through digital resources. As a result, it has become more unstable, temporary, ephemeral, and volatile.
Drawing on the tension between two archival notions - one focused on securing information and the other on revealing its fragility - this distinctive space aims to provide some clues to revisit the writing of history and the management of memory. The exhibition will bring together a series of works by contemporary Hispanic American artists engaging in a dialogue with historical accounts of relations and exchanges between Spain and overseas territories.
This exhibition project aims to activate the archive from a contemporary artistic perspective, emphasizing its value and the act of archiving, and to contribute to opening it up to other visions, uses and consumptions.
Image: Iván Argote, Isabel
