Decolonizing Archives: Video and AI

Catalog description

In this studio art course combining theory and practice, students will gain the knowledge to critically examine and challenge the traditional structures of archives and data collection. We discuss topics in relation to data ownership, information access, digital colonialism, AI libraries, cultural heritage, and alternative radical modes of knowledge production. What do we really mean when we say decolonize? Who should have access to a particular story, archival folder, or technological legacy? How can we go beyond decolonization as a theory or metaphor and arrive at a tangible practice of dismantling dominant power structures? Students engage in readings and hands-on creative projects that challenge traditional archival practices and produce alternative narratives using basic video production tools and AI-created imagery.