Workshop Series

The Cookout: A Community-Based Archiving Conversation

Virtual via zoom

July 16, 2023, 2:00 - 3:00 PM (CST)

Sixty Inches From Center and The Blackivists present The Cookout: A Community-Based Archiving Conversation. 

Come celebrate with us as we mark the end of our two-year Diamond in the Back project. Moderated by Blackivist member Raquel Flores-Clemons, representatives from our community partners Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, Lawndale Pop-Up Spot, alt space Chicago, and the Heaux History Project will discuss their work to archive and document themselves and preserve the history of Black Chicago. So, grab a plate and pull up a chair. You don’t want to miss this! 

Following the panel discussion, there will be time for Q&A, where attendees can ask questions, address specific concerns, and receive support.

Registration is free and open to all ages, experience levels, and interest areas. ASL and live-captioning will be provided.

About the Panelists:

The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, founded in June 1968 but not officially recognized by national headquarters until December 1968, was a Black liberation organization focused on political education, social programs and police brutality. 

alt space Chicago is an artist-led faith based non-profit based in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood dedicated to revitalizing the community with art and culture.

The Heaux History Project is a multimedia archival project documenting Black, Brown, & Indigenous erotic labor histories and sex workers’ rights movements through essays, zines, and other publications, digital archives, exhibitions, interviews, and film.

Lawndale Pop-Up Spot is a community museum in a shipping container dedicated to sponsoring exhibits and events by and for the community of North Lawndale in Chicago. The Pop-Up Spot aims to provide space for North Lawndale artists, historians, curators, and advocates to present fantastic and engaging exhibits and events for people of all ages; and to collaborate with other North Lawndale organizations and residents in their work to help North Lawndale thrive.

Activating the Archive: A Panel Discussion

Virtual via Zoom

March 26, 2023, 2:00 - 3:00 PM (CST)

Sixty Inches From Center and The Blackivists present Activating the Archive, a conversation with Makiba Foster, Meida McNeal, and Morris (Dino) Robinson, Jr., moderated by Stacie Williams. 

This panel will highlight archival documentation projects in and beyond Chicago and offer insight into how individuals, communities, and groups can promote and engage the public using their physical and digital collections. Attendees will hear various strategies and methods from cultural heritage professionals and memory workers – representing Archiving the Black Web, Honey Pot Performance, and Shorefront Legacy Center – who have implemented successful outreach initiatives and public programs.

**Please note that during the live recording of this discussion, a brief interruption occurred.**

By the end of the workshop, you will know: 

• Metrics for establishing meaningful partnerships

• Strategies for promoting archival collections for different audiences

• Tips for equitable budgeting and labor 

Following the panel discussion, there will be time for Q&A, where attendees can ask questions, address specific concerns, and receive support.

About the Panelists:

Recently appointed as the director of libraries for the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, Makiba J. Foster’s past leadership roles include successful tenures as the manager of the African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) for Broward County Libraries and the Assistant Chief Librarian at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, at New York Public Library. Throughout her career, Makiba has increasingly invested her energies into helping libraries reimagine services to better serve and positively impact the community. Her work includes libraries as incubators for the arts/artists with the creation of a social justice Artist Residency, faculty and community collaborations focusing on the role of libraries and archives in advancing social justice through digital archives like Documenting Ferguson, and co-creating the historic web archiving project Archiving the Black Web (ATBW), a national partnership between HBCU libraries, community-based Black collecting organizations, and Black collecting public libraries.

Meida McNeal is Artistic and Managing Director of Honey Pot Performance. She received her PhD in Performance Studies (Northwestern) and her MFA in Choreography & Dance History (Ohio State). Awards include Field Foundation’s Leaders for a New Chicago, 3Arts Award in Dance, Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist, and the Links’ Hall Co-Missions Fellowship. An Independent Artist and Scholar at the intersection of performance studies, dance, and critical ethnography, Meida also teaches at the University of Chicago and Columbia College Chicago. Meida also works with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events’ Executive Administration team as the Senior Manager of Arts & Community Impact Investments building and implementing artist recovery programs and creative placemaking grantmaking initiatives. Prior to this role, Meida worked with the Chicago Park District as Arts & Culture Manager supporting community arts partnerships, youth arts, cultural stewardship, and civic engagement initiatives.

Morris (Dino) Robinson, Jr. is the Production Manager at Northwestern University Press. Previously, he served in creative positions in advertising, and later operated Robinson Design. He holds a BA degree in Communication Design and a minor in African American Studies. Dino is the founder of Shorefront, an organization he pioneered in 1995. Within Shorefront, he has authored books, facilitated subject specific speaking engagements and exhibits, and consults on community based archiving, organizing, and programming. Throughout the last 20 years, Dino built a growing collection currently measuring over 500 linear feet, representing the local Black communities on Chicago’s suburban North Shore. The Shorefront Legacy Center houses its collections and library and serves as a space for research initiatives, programming activities, and community engagement.

MAKE IT LAST FOREVER: A DIGITAL PRESERVATION WORKSHOP

VIRTUAL VIA ZOOM

NOVEMBER 6, 2022, 2:00 - 3:00 PM (CST)

Sixty Inches From Center and The Blackivists present Make It Last Forever: A Digital Preservation Workshop with Zakiya Collier.

This workshop will help you understand the various digital preservation tools/services that can perform different functions within the digital curation lifecycle and will teach methods for investigating and selecting potential tools/services. The focus will be on low-cost and free tools and services. Collier will cover how to build daily workflows that incorporate accessioning digital materials (both born-digital and previously digitized), processing them, and planning for their long-term storage and preservation.

The focus of this course is on preservation and not on access or digitization of materials. We will not be addressing the “why” of digital preservation; rather, we are preparing for the “how” of making informed decisions regarding tool selection and demonstrating some tools in action. Introductory knowledge of digital preservation issues, such as those outlined in the Library of Congress’s Digital Preservation Outreach & Education Curriculum, is useful but not required.

Following Zakiya’s presentation, there will be time for Q&A, where attendees can ask questions, address specific concerns, and receive support.

About the Instructor: Zakiya Collier (she/they) is a Brooklyn-based Black, queer archivist and memory worker. She is currently the Community Manager for the Documenting the Now project with Shift Collective. Her work and research explore the role of cooperative thought and improvisation in the sustainability of cultural memory, particularly in marginalized communities and cultural heritage institutions. Some of her previous work includes serving as the Digital Archivist for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Project Archivist at Weeksville Heritage Center, and a collaborator on the Archiving the Black Web project.

Zakiya is an affiliate of the Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies and a guest co-editor of a special issue of The Black Scholar on Black Archival Practice. She holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of South Carolina, an MLIS from Long Island University, and a MA in Media, Culture, and Communication from New York University.