After the Fire: Loss Archive and African Studies

The hybrid symposium, ‘After the Fire: Loss, Archive and African Studies’ took place on the 18^th and 19^th of April, organised by APC Associate Duane Jethro and APC Postdoc Alírio Karina, with collaborative support from APC, the CCA, and HUMA, and funding from the Development and Alumni Department’s UCT Fire Fund. This symposium marked the first anniversary of the fire that destroyed the Jagger Reading Room and much of the African Studies collections at the University of Cape Town. The anniversary was taken as an opportunity to raise broader conversations about archives across the African continent and what it means to think African Studies in light of loss and archive.

Following an introduction by Duane Jethro, the first day of the symposium began with a panel focusing on fire and its aftermaths for archives both at UCT and on the broader African continent. Moderated by Robert Nyamushosho, this panel began with a presentation by Jeremy Seekings, whose paper examined the role of managerialism in the lead up to and response to the UCT fire. This was followed by a paper by Edwina Ashie-Nikoi, which discussed how the JH Kwabena Nketia Archives and the Likpe Traditional Area Community Archives offer ways of thinking with the varied ways loss shapes and inspires archival practice. The panel was closed by Hedley Twidle, whose paper on the burning of the Plant Conservation Unit raised questions of institutional memory and archival attentions. After lunch, the second panel presented their papers, with Shamil Jeppie offering commentary as discussant. William Musamba presented a paper examining the precarious position of Ugandan archives as sites whose losses reflect colonial and contemporary political contestations. Closing the day, Susana Molins Lliteras’ paper explored the questions of access and loss posed by the many efforts to digitise the Timbuktu Archive.

The second day began with a virtual session, with Carine Zaayman as discussant. Duncan Money presented a joint paper written with Miyanda Simabwachi on so-called ‘white ants’ and the consequences of their paper-eating for Zambian archives and, by extension, historiography. This was followed by a paper by Rachel King exploring how preventive archaeology, such as that of the Nubian Monuments campaign institutionalised prior to the approval of new construction work, represents a changing archive oriented by what has been unsettled rather than what has survived. After a tea break, the second session of the day was held, with Duane Jethro as discussant. Ujala Satgoor presented a paper on the Jagger fire, the need for research and preservation to be a priority for UCT libraries, and the opportunity the fire presents as a turning point for imagining the collections anew. Mandy Noble’s and Michal Singer’s joint paper offered a review of the salvage and recovery efforts at UCT since the fire, heartening many to hear how much had been saved in the midst of what has been lost. Closing the session, Chris Ouma presented a paper relating the contributions of his edited collection, ‘Black Archives and Intellectual Histories’. After lunch, a virtual session took place with Litheko Modisane as discussant, examining the visuality of archival loss. Jennifer Blaylock’s paper explored audiovisual artifacts as instantiations of archival loss in Ghana’s Information Services Department and Onyeka Igwe’s 2020 film, a so-called archive, which thinks and plays with the archival losses and distortions of the Nigerian Film Corporation building while also commenting on colonial archives and refusing the gesture of recovering them. Igwe’s film was then screened, and followed by a pre-recorded conversation between the director and Litheko Modisane.

The symposium ended with a roundtable chaired by Alirio Karina, with Nicki Crowster, Litheko Modisane and Divine Fuh offering closing commentary on the Library fire and the fires that have preceded it, and how to expansively imagine the relationship between archive, African Studies, and loss, particularly at UCT. Following this, in-person delegates attended the opening of “Of Smoke and Ash: The Jagger Library Memorial Exhibition”, co-curated by Duane Jethro and Jade Nair, at Michaelis Galleries. The Exhibition is on-going until 13 May.