"Since 2017, Sixty’s Chicago Archives + Artists Project (CA+AP) has been pairing artists with archives across the city of Chicago to spark new experiments in creative interpretation. The book Chicago Archives + Artists Project: Case Studies in Collaboration serves as a site for new archive-inspired explorations, a directory of Chicago-based archives and collections, and a printed space where past artists, archivists, librarians, curators, and other collaborators can reflect on 5+ years of the Chicago Archives + Artists Project. Alongside reflections contributed by past participants, the book features two new artist/archive pairings with printmaker Ben Blount who spent time in the archives of Shorefront Legacy Center, and artist/poet Natasha Mijares who explored the Latinx art collection at DePaul Art Museum.
Edited by Kate Hadley Toftness, Tempestt Hazel, Christina Nafziger, with support by Persephone Van Ort. Designed by Matthew Austin of For the Birds Trapped in Airports."
Dimensions: 5.5 x 9 x 1"
Materials: Handmade paperback book
Sixty Inches From Center
Launched in 2017 as a project of Sixty Inches From Center, the Chicago Archives + Artists Project (CA+AP) pairs artists with archives across Chicago to spark new experiments in creative interpretation, to showcase the rich histories and materials being preserved in participating archives, and to share archival practices with local artists and their communities. Over the years, the project has taken many forms, such as artist talks, an exhibition, festivals, and our book, Chicago Archives + Artists Project: Case Studies in Collaboration. Although the project continues to be reimagined based on the needs of our community, it stays rooted in our grounding questions:
*What do artists and archivists have to glean from each other’s philosophy, training, and creative process?
*What role do artists have to play in taking action to preserve their communities’ histories?
*How do archives shape artistic futures?
www.chicagoarchivesandartists.org
www.sixtyinchesfromcenter.org