Conference Agenda

This paper explores the conservation of a parish register (1729–1825) from Figtree, Nevis. A legacy of colonial practice the register is revered as a record of Horatio Nelson's marriage; for others, as a critical way of amplifying the voices of enslaved and freed individuals. Through international transcription and conservation efforts, this paper highlights strategies for climate-resilient preservation practice, ensuring archives sustain contested memories and identities for future generations.

This paper explores the outcomes of an archival conservation project on a unique parish register (1729–1825) from the parish of Figtree, Nevis. The register contains biographical information about the entire island population, including enslaved and freed individuals, alongside the legacy of contested figures such as Admiral Nelson, who married in Nevis in 1787. It highlights the challenges of preserving contested reputations while ensuring equitable representation within archival narratives. The register reflects a complex history, intertwining colonial power structures with the lived experiences of marginalised communities.

Central to this project was a delicate balance between preserving heritage associated with prominent historical figures and amplifying the voices of those silenced in traditional accounts while balancing the needs of a diverse range of partners who may not share the same priorities and ideals. The paper delves into the ethical considerations and methodologies adopted to navigate this balance, ensuring that the archival process fosters inclusivity and fairness.

An international voluntary online transcription project played a pivotal role, helping to democratise access to the register’s contents, fostering research engagement with its historical significance, and providing community training in archival skills. By connecting communities on Nevis with diasporic and academic networks, the project underscores the potential of archives to bridge geographical, temporal, and cultural divides.

Situated in a region vulnerable to climate change, our approach to interventive conservation integrated traditional sustainable practices and responsive techniques to safeguard the register for the island community. This case study highlights innovative climate-resilient preservation strategies employed to protect the register from environmental threats and lessons learned from damage to inform future practices for preserving climatically affected historic Western recordkeeping systems.

Through the lens of the Figtree Parish Register, this paper advocates for archives as dynamic spaces for dialogue where diverse memories and identities converge. It underscores the transformative potential of archives for present communities and identities in tolerance and reconciliation and in their capacity to inform future practice in the face of climate challenges.

The Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) Archive represents the GRI’s most significant acquisition to date and a herculean effort of cataloging and digitization. These images highlight the significant roles that African Americans have played in shaping American life and culture, while also providing critical visual documentation of the 20th-century Black experience. This paper will highlight the history of the JPC, acquisition of the archive, co-stewardship partnership, and public access.

With the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) as co-steward, the Getty Research Institute (GRI) is cataloging and digitizing the Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) Archive, acquired in 2019. This expansive resource holds historic materials and images related to the operations of the Chicago-based media organization that published influential magazines, such as Ebony and Jet. With over 4 million prints, negatives, slides, and transparencies that depict iconic Black actors, musicians, fashion models, writers, leaders, and activists, as well as everyday citizens, these materials highlight the significant roles that African Americans have played in shaping American life and culture, while also providing critical visual documentation of the 20th-century Black experience. Beyond the photographs, the collection also documents the activities and publications of the company, including business records, ephemera, and audiovisual and printed materials. Getty and NMAAHC are looking forward to launching a new dedicated digital interface to present the JPC Archive to the public in June 2025. This paper, presented by managing archivist Steven D. Booth, will discuss the history of the JPC, acquisition of the archive, co-stewardship partnership, and some of the many intricacies of the project including full-scale archival processing, data modeling, mass digitization, and public access.

This article examines investigated the connection between the destruction of the Palestinian cultural heritage, collective memory mainly in the Gaza Strip and continued Settler colonialism practices, and clarified the Israeli successive government's attempt to erase the Palestinian collective memory and its manifestation that proves the Palestinian national identity.

This research examines the intersection of settler colonialism, genocide, and the erasure of collective memory, using Palestine as a case study. It focuses on Israeli practices aimed at fragmenting and destroying both the material and immaterial dimensions of Palestinian memory, with particular attention to the large-scale devastation of the Gaza Strip following October 7. The study investigates how such destruction functions as a tool of ethnic cleansing, colonial domination, and the undermining of historical narrative and collective identity. It draws on Rashid Khalidi’s interpretation of erasure policies, Ilan Pappé’s framework of ethnic cleansing, and Patrick Wolfe’s settler-colonial theory. The theoretical foundation is further enriched by literature on collective memory, including the works of Maurice Halbwachs,Pierre Nora and Sherene Seikaly. Methodologically, the research combines an extensive literature review with qualitative interviews, while also reflecting on the emotional and logistical challenges of documenting trauma and cultural loss under siege. The findings underscore the deep entanglement between memory, identity, and resistance, emphasizing that the destruction of archives and cultural heritage is not merely symbolic, but central to the settler-colonial project