EDITORIAL

 

 

Welcome to Issue 52.2 of Archives and Manuscripts, where we’ll dive deeper into the depths of Australian archival research and practice as it stands in 2025. In this issue, we present four peer-reviewed articles and one reflection article.

Frances Edmonds, Sabra Thorner, Maree Clarke, Kerri Clarke, Karen Rogers, Robin Rogers, Jeanine Leane, Richard Chenhall, Mitch Mahoney, Alannah Croom and Kate Senior explore the ideas and practices of the Living Archive of Aboriginal Art and Knowledge, and in building and sustaining this Living Archive. This article was originally presented as the Loris Williams Memorial Lecture at the 2023 ASA Conference ‘Rising to our Challenges’ in Melbourne, Australia. It examines the idea that an archive can hold meaning throughout its creation as well as where it may lay to rest, and is then activated by communities throughout the material’s ongoing life, sharing cultural knowledge through exchange and collaboration. This article also holds significance as the first single-blind reviewed article published by Archives and Manuscripts – the co-editors would like to thank the authors and reviewers for their collaboration in this process. Supported by the Editorial Board, we offered a single blind review process to the authors as a way to preserve the ownership of the traditional knowledge holders – anonymous authorship as part of the review process was not appropriate in this situation.

This issue also sees two articles explore Australasian archives – Deborah Lee-Talbot delves into the work of Phyllis Mander-Jones and a period of time in her work on the Australian Joint Copying Project, while Michael Alpers, Susannah Castleden, Helena Grehan and Elizabeth McKenzie interrogate the ethical and cultural frameworks of the Melanesian Film Archive. Both of these articles emphasise the important relationships that have developed over time between Australia and our Pacific neighbours.

The issue closes with two articles that consider the places that records are kept – the digital archive in Olle Sköld and Isto Huvila’s consideration of archives of the popular movement, and the regional university in Adele Wessell, Clare Thorpe and Monica Casavieja Muniz’s reflection article.

The editors thank the Editorial Board and the ASA Council for their ongoing support and advice. We would especially like to thank Peta Jane Blessing for her time and work on the Editorial Board. If you would like to nominate for the Editorial Board, please contact journaleditor@archivists.org.au. As always, we welcome both peer-reviewed and reflection articles for the journal – if you would like to discuss a submission, please get in touch.

Angela Schilling
Dr Jessie Lymn
General Editors