mission
New Archives was born out of a desire to encounter more dialogue – specifically, more nuance, rigor, and care – around art on the northwest coast.
much has been said about what is needed to sustain a healthy and thriving arts ecosystem in a small regional city, and although the general consensus seems to be that we need more of everything (space, funding, opportunities, writing) – we believe that focusing solely on ‘how much’ art is being written about will never solve the critical issue of what is being said, about what art, and by whom.
large arts institutions, like most institutions (due to their size, bureaucratic structures, and funding sources), lag behind public discourse around equity, as well as political and structural criticality. this phenomenon is exacerbated by the industry’s refusal to compensate people well, if at all, and its failure to acknowledge the value of knowledge and aesthetic systems outside of an outdated, outmoded, and deeply flawed art historical canon.
our belief is that this problem is not solvable by one institution, one group of people, or one project. because every canon will be flawed, every archive incomplete, and no media source will be able to cover every angle. so the answer feels closer to an idea of multiplicity – many projects of different scales, perspectives, and methodologies working simultaneously. New Archives is our contribution.
none of these ideas are new – we just happen to be in the privileged position of having the time and resources to do something about these thoughts, right now, in our own small way.
New Archives will prioritize: keeping our operating structure small in order to be more flexible and responsive to community values, being transparent about our finances, paying contributors well for their time, and being open to our own shortcomings and biases (however begrudgingly).
we hope you’ll join us and lend your voice to this conversation, as the strength of New Archives will come not from us, but from the views of those who choose to share their stories, their voices, their work, and their ideas.