Welcome to Archive/Counterarchive
Archive/Counter-Archive is a project and research network dedicated to activating and preserving audiovisual archives created by Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis, Inuit), Black communities and People of Colour, women, LGBT2Q+ and immigrant communities. Political, resistant, and community-based, counter-archives disrupt conventional narratives and enrich our histories.
Established in 2018 through a Social Science and Humanities Partnership Grant, the network is committed to finding new ways to activate, preserve and restore Canada's diverse moving image heritage. Our evolving mandate combines education and advocacy to raise awareness and find resources to support audio-visual preservation -- with a special focus on short format media which have very few resources available for preservation.
activating Canada's audiovisual heritage
News and Events
Check out what's on at Archive/Counter-Archive below! Visit our News and Events page for complete listing.
Case Studies
Our Case Studies examine a range of themes, media, histories, and geographies through a selection of Canadian, community-based, and independent archives and collections.
See Case StudiesImage
Toronto Living With AIDS (1990-1991) public access cable television series promotional poster, courtesy of David Plant/Trinity Square Video
AIDS Activist Media: Toronto Living with AIDS & Second DecadeImage
The Film Vault of the Winnipeg Film Group
Found Footage: Re-Examining the History of the Winnipeg Film GroupImage
Film Still: Keltie's Beard: A Woman's Story (dir. Sara Halprin, 1983)
Beyond the Narrative: Preserving and Mobilizing Canadian LGBT2Q Films from 1970–2000 in the CFMDC Collection
Working Groups
Working Groups provide a resource for the Case Studies and extend the research through papers, policy recommendations, workshops, exhibitions, and public talks.
See Working Groups
