Black Archives
Reviewed by: Patricia Belen
Review started: February 14, 2023
Review last updated: May 2, 2023
Site Link
Data and Sources
- Photographs, videos, and audio from various sources, depending on the project collaboration.
Processes
- Photographs, videos, and audio are used in project collaborations and presented through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Presentation
- Content is limited to descriptions of the Black Archives website, book, projects, and services.
- Website includes a projects page which links to the Black Archives’ collaborations.
Digital Tools Used to Build It
- Information not prominently displayed on the website.
- Wappalyzer analysis: Squarespace content management system and Ecommerce; GoDaddy hosting, Google Workspace email, ReCAPTCHA security.
Languages
- English
Review
Black Archives is a “multimedia platform that brings a spotlight to the Black experience”. It was founded in 2015 by multidisciplinary, research-based visual artist Renata Cherlise to visually explore the Black past, present, and future and reconcile the images of Black people found in the media. Black Archives does not appear to house material or digitize content through its website. Rather, the website is a space to present project collaborations and provide services related to storytelling, social strategy, and creative direction. Photographs, videos, and audio are featured in the Black Archives’ social media platforms.
Black Archives has collaborated with Sony Music, The Whitney Houston Music Estate, Amazon Prime Video, Adobe, LinkNYC, Sony Pictures, Hulu, the NBA, The Atlantic, Torch Sportswear, Getty Images, Macy’s, and more. Examples of these projects include: archival consulting for The Hair Tales, a docuseries on Hulu; curation of submissions on Black life shown on LinkNYC installations; video profiles of Black artists for Adobe’s ‘Living Archive’ series; creation of social assets for Sylvie’s Love on Amazon Prime Video; and sourcing archival footage to complement the lyrics to the song, “The Greatest Love of All,’ by Whitney Houston for Sony Music. Black Archives is also a book which is a “photographic celebration and exploration of Black identity and experience through the twentieth century” (Ten Speed Press, Penguin Random House, 2023).
The project collaborations, which are viewable by clicking to the respective websites, are highly engaging and visual, particularly when Black Archives is involved in curation, archival consulting and video creation. They are excellent examples of the potential of archival materials in commercial and creative work. The projects, along with the historical photographs and videos presented through their social media platforms are inspiring and insightful into the everyday experiences of Black lives. However, the website presents Black Archives as an agency and consulting service for hire, rather than a place to experience visual materials that are accessible to a public audience. As such, it is an atypical and reimagined archive, one which is neither physical nor digital, but instead refers to a space to create new narratives through storytelling and creation.