This workshop invites an open discussion on the idea of autonomous archives: What happens when archiving is no longer the domain of institutions alone? Can autonomous archives also serve as tools for individuals to record lived experiences and tell their own stories?

We invite all participants to bring an object they wish to archive, but aren’t quite sure how. This might be a photograph, a letter, a voice recording, an item of clothing, or any personal artifact that feels significant. These contributions will form the basis for a group reflection: What does it mean to archive? And where might we begin? Together, we’ll consider how autonomous archival practices take shape—through sorting, translating, reinterpreting—and how they might allow for the emergence of unofficial or community-based memory.

Curator XUE Bin and archivist HUANG Weiren, who collaborated with artist Ho Rui An in the making of his new film, The World of Lines (commissioned by and on view at the ICA at NYU Shanghai), will reflect on their work with materials drawn from history, industry, and everyday life. 

Participants are invited to join the workshop after the 12:45 screening of The World of Lines.

Free and open to the public.

Space is limited. Registration is required. To register, please click on the “Register” button on the left of this page or scan the QR code below. 

In conjunction with Chronologies, an exhibition by Ho Rui An and co-curated by Zian Chen.

The exhibition Chronologies and related events are presented as the third season of the ICA's artistic research program Lightless Fires (2024–26), exploring fermentation as a figure and technique of collective memory, autonomous archiving, and writing history.