The Body As An Archive is an Oral History Project of Visual AIDS that pairs HIV-positive artists across the globe for intimate audio and video recorded conversations. All participating artists are represented in the Visual AIDS Archive. The project prioritizes facilitating intergenerational conversations while specifically uplifting the voices of demographics that have been historically underrepresented within dominant narratives of HIV/AIDS movements.

We recognize that cultural legacies of communities most affected by AIDS are particularly vulnerable, not only because of the systemic racism and classism of the art world, but also because these legacies are often embodied in oral traditions, community spaces, performance, and other non-material forms. In order to address the gaps in our collection, we have decided to expand our current archival practice, which centers on photo documentation of physical artworks, to also preserve oral histories.

The title of the project was coined by Katherine Cheairs in the summer of 2020 during a committee meeting held to address collection gaps in the Visual AIDS Archive, particularly regarding BIPOC artist members. An Archive Committee working group composed of community artists Katherine Cheairs, Shane Aslan Selzer, and Visual AIDS Artist Member Cea (Constantine Jones) collaborated to establish a participatory process framework for the project. The Body As An Archive was directed by Tracy Fenix from 2020 to 2021 and Cea (Constantine Jones) from 2021 to 2024. Unique to this particular oral history project is a “hands-off” facilitation approach, which removes the role of a traditional interviewer and predetermined questions in favor of organic conversation between two artists. Participants in the project therefore act as both recorder and record, contributing equally to the stewardship of each other’s history.

The Body As An Archive has received funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Humanities New York.

This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.