In conversation with Anne Balsamo in 2013, B. Ruby Rich and Lynn Hershman Leeson created a FemTechNet Video Dialogue on the keyword, “Archive.” Hershman Leeson started off by saying, “in the 70s it suddenly dawned on me that many women had no history, because they weren’t in history. That I think was an impetus for thinking about the artifacts and the discards, the collection of what in painting is called the negative space, the space around something that forms it….” Then she reminded us listeners of Revolution Art Women, RAW/WAR, an “interactive, community-curated archive” about the history of women’s art. In the end, perhaps, our own FemTechNet archive—which contains the “Archive” dialogue--points out what to do with our materials. The RAW/WAR site articulates my hope for FemTechNet’s collection as well: “[W]e, as a global digital community, can now all participate in its creation and change the way history itself is constructed. Using new technologies, current and future generations can create their own histories, breaking the cycle of omission and erasure.” That’s a core task, for sure, likely messy and time-consuming, but, in relationship, and with love, probably within reach!
Suggestions welcome: slirish@illinois.edu