Sierra & Build Your Archive Goes To Mexico

I relate to bell hooks when she says, "I was determined to create a world for myself where my creativity could be respected and sustained. It is a world still in the making. Yet each year of my life. I find myself with more undisturbed, uninterrupted time. When I decided to accept a smaller salary and teach part-time, It was so to give myself more time. Again this choice required sacrifice, and a commitment to living simply. Yet these are choices women artists must make if we want more time to contemplate, more time to work. Women artists cannot wait for the ideal circumstances to be in place before we find the time to do the work we are called to do; we have to create oppositionally and work against the grain. Each of us must invent alternative strategies that enable us to move against and beyond barriers that stand in our way."

I found solace in taking time off from applying to jobs and larger projects during my fellowship because I wanted to fully commit to furthering my practice as an artist. That invaluable time between September - December 2022 allowed me to make photographs and archival installations that I could not have imagined without the guidance of Dr. Bahsin, the help of Stuart A. Rose Library and the support of the Emory Arts and Social Justice Program.

In January, I began my Master's Degree in Library and Information Science with a concentration in Archival Studies at the University of Alabama part of the inaugural Social Justice Archivists Cohort to receive a fully funded degree by December 2024.

I now have the honor to speak alongside colleagues and friends, Krista Owens, Zakiya Collier & Kimberly Henderson at Art Libraries Society of North America 2023 Conference: Transformación from April 18 - April 22. Our panel will be addressing what it means to provide memory work and care to Black Women Artists like myself but also how memory work intersects with the fields of art and librarianship.

I am reaching out to you, my village and community, to support me once again in my many endeavors of showing the world what is possible for a Black Woman artist, archivist, curator and future librarian can be.

CONFERENCE EXPECTATIONS AND BENEFITS

Throughout the week-long conference, I will be able to not only experience what Mexico City has to offer but also be in a community with professionals with a range of expertise, knowledge and perspectives about the library field. Some of the presentations, conversations and workshops that I am looking forward to are:

Being able to take notes as a first-semester graduate student will be invaluable in my work in librarianship and archival studies. It is my hope that I will be able to take what I have learned from the conference and apply it to on-going projects, prepare writings for publication and resource share with my Build Your Archive Community.

GRANTS & ADDITIONAL FUNDING

I have currently received funding from the Speaker of Color Fund and the Kress Foundation for a total of $1000. Although those will not be available until closer to the travel dates or either after the conference is completed.

I have applied to Art Resources on the Web: Introduction to Web Archive Data Analysis and Instruction which is a workshop that will be occurring during the conference week and if awarded I will receive $1000 after participating in the workshop.

I will be applying to The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and 2023 ARLIS/NA-SE Professional Development Award for an additional $1450

CONFERENCE + BUDGET TIMELINE

February 24 | Become a Member of ARLIS and Register for Conference | $230

Student Membership - $55

Conference Registration - $175

March 1 | Book Round Trip Flight to Mexico City | $750+

A round trip from Atlanta to Mexico is currently at $750. I am projecting as we approach the conference dates that it will increase and would be best to prioritize this cost.

March 24 | Pay Hotel Booking | $1805

I have booked the hotel and would want to secure it by paying it in full.

April 10 | Reach Build Your Archive funding goal | $5000

April 20 | Panel Discussion

The Visual in Black Life: Perspectives in Black Memory Work

In the words of the late scholar, critic, and artist, bell hooks, “though rarely articulated as such, the camera became in black life a political instrument, a way to resist misrepresentation as well as a means by which alternative images could be produced.” Black librarianship and memory work has been integral to preserving the evidence of this resistance, the blueprint of an alternative future through ethical and culturally-informed collection, description, and engagement.

Even in the context of today's digital landscape, Black stewardship continues to ensure the preservation of a people's history into the future, even in spaces yet to be imagined. Centering the work of stewarding collections of Black visual culture and Black artist archives, this roundtable examines some of the ways that this work has transformed and translated over different times and spaces.

Attendees will learn from varying perspectives of Black visual culture stewardship through the voices of four Black women memory workers contributing to critical archival, curatorial, artist documentation, and publishing work. From stewarding private artists' collections and documenting Black women artists to photo curating for book projects and exhibitions, the presenters will offer considerations and strategies for caring for the rich history that is Black visual culture

April 22 | Return to Atlanta, GA

WHAT’S NEXT

When I return from Mexico City, I will be able to announce my next project working in community archives and upcoming workshops that will be provided by Build Your Archive.

Additional funding raised that will not only provide me a soft place to land before starting a new job but also will be reinvested back into the production and delievery cost of workshops throughout the year.

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Learn more about Build Your Archive: https://www.buildyourarchive.com

View my current projects: https://www.sierraking.co/about