For our second issue, we are planning to create our first PRINT issue exploring the idea of the archive in audio documentary. 

An archive can be anything from a historical record of sounds (a collection of recordings of animal sounds, a repository of found sounds from thrift store mixtapes, recordings of supreme court arguments, voicemails from a deceased family member…) to an assemblage of sound across time, even space. It can be both literal and expansive. 

We’re inspired by Saidiya Hartman, who works with what she has called “the scraps” of the archive.  “I work a lot with unknown persons, nameless figures, ensembles, collectives, multitudes, the chorus. That’s where my imagination of practice resides. That’s where my heart resides,” says Hartman.

Do you work with archival sounds? Do you consider your work itself an archive (or part of an archive)? 

Sound and audio can be ephemeral, both as we experience them in real time and in their digital incarnation. How does sound become archive, when does it become archive, and what does it mean to view audio documentarians as archivists?

We are interested in pitches for short essays (1500-2000 words) that bring us provocative ideas and surprising insights into the intersection of audio documentary practice and the idea of the archive.