Featuring Dr. Aisha M. Johnson, PhD
Join us at 10 AM to 12 PM for a community conversation titled ” Preserving St. Croix: Archival Labor, Culture Keepers, and Community Care.” Led by Dr. Johnson, the conversation will explore the ways archives are built, maintained, and activated through labor that is often unseen but deeply cultural. Participants will consider the role of archivists, scholars, and communities in shaping how memory is preserved and interpreted. The session will highlight the ethics of archival care, the cultural significance of preservation practices, and the ongoing work required to sustain archives as living resources for scholarship and community identity.
Lunch will be served from 12 – 1:30 PM
Join us from 2 PM – 4 PM for a presentation led by Dr. Johnson titled “Fragile Frames: Preserving Film, Photography, and Multimedia Memory.” This presentation will center on how Film and photography are powerful vessels of memory, yet they are also some of the most vulnerable materials in archives. Join Dr. Aisha Johnson as she guides participants through the challenges of preserving rotting and deteriorating media, with a focus on film and photographic collections. The session will address techniques, ethics, and community-centered approaches to sustaining access to these fragile formats, ensuring that visual histories remain part of our shared cultural record.
At 3:00 PM, we will host a hands-on workshop titled “Preservation in Practice: Caring for Personal Archives,” where participants will practice preservation techniques using their own personal archives. The session will also include opportunities for one-on-one consultations with Dr. Johnson on preserving personal and institutional collections, as well as dedicated time to digitize photos, videos, and audio cassette tapes.