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New Year, New Phase

Hello again, dear readers! Here we are in 2025, and January is already halfway through – but how is this even possible?! 🤯 It feels just as if time is slipping through my fingers. For now, things are calm (or at least calmer than the month of November) — and I’m not complaining. The winter holidays offered a much-needed pause, a return to a slower rhythm, almost frozen in time like during the pandemic. Reconnecting with my family, my friends and my lover, and taking the time to savor each moment was essential for me, nourishing both my body and mind.


Exchanges between Nil and I, January 15th 2025
Exchanges between Nil and I, January 15th 2025


It was Nil’s birthday last week, on the 15th to be exact. Our favorite artist celebrated her 87th birthday in good company in Istanbul, her forever city.

I hope to see her again soon.


Returning to work has been gentle so far. Art Genève is fast approaching (January 30th to February 2nd), where Archivorum will have a booth to present fragments of the project developed over the past year. Since Stephen and I were there last year for a conference during the fair, it’s Christianna who will carry the torch for the team and “represent” us at the fair this year. Again, I can't believe how a whole year has passed already. That time we had last year in Geneva was truly enjoyable: laughter, good food, good wine, great encounters, art, and wonderful conversations. I have such fond memories of it all. And all of it in Nil’s company.


On the progress front, the final touches on the inventory are underway. Just a few more images to add before sending everything to Archivorum and the European Union. Then begins the writing of the book, set to be published in less than a year. A major and intense step ahead, but I prefer to move forward one step at a

Year, New Phase, indeed!


What else? Oh yes! While browsing through my emails this week, I stumbled upon an exhibition at the UQO Gallery in Gatineau (Quebec, Canada) that immediately caught my attention—of course, it’s about archives and artists 😉.


Titled "Archives by Artists," the exhibition showcases a wide range of strategies artists use to explore and creatively rethink the archive. The selection incorporates materials typically associated with archives—photos, postcards, letters, maps, or press clippings—as well as unconventional elements like scents or sounds. Through these various works and archives, both curators, Jim Drobnick and Jennifer Fisher, offer fresh insights into art and artistic practice, revealing their communities and social networks, reinterpreting historical events, and examining contemporary themes of memory and preservation, all while questioning the very nature and dynamics of the archive itself. Isn’t it beautiful connected to the project so far?



Of course, I can’t help but draw a connection to Nil, who often says her works are archives in themselves (see my post from February 8th). Indeed, I would say that Nil’s works are not only archives, but that Nil is an archivist herself—an archivist of Paris, of workers, of exiles, of women, and of the situated history of the places she visits. I could definitely see Nil’s work in that exhibition, which only opens on March 12th—I can’t wait to see some photos of it for some ideas and inspiration.


We won’t have the opportunity to show Nil’s archives as I/we initially wanted at the start of this project, but it’s always interesting to see the choices curators and exhibition designers make when presenting archives. It has to remain dynamic, not redundant, and always grounded in its context—not easy! Okay, I’m getting lost in my thoughts… Anyway, I’m actually thinking about going back to Quebec for a few weeks in March—maybe it’ll be the perfect opportunity to visit Galerie UQO and meet the curators.




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