We are happy to announce the next presentation in the context of the Research Group 'Moving Images: Preservation, Curation, Exhibition' (UvA/ASCA i.c.w. Eye Filmmuseum). On March 14, as the concluding session of Eye’s Scholar-in-Residence programme, Asli Özgen, together with Jamil Fiorino-Habib, will speak about ‘Decolonial Futures of Audiovisual Archives and Archiving,’ with an introduction by Giovanna Fossati. After the presentation the three speakers will have a panel discussion, and invite attendees to join them. See abstract and bios below.

March 14, 14.30-17.00 hrs.

Eye Collection Centre - Asterweg 26, Amsterdam

Entrance = free, RSVP: j.fiorinohabib@uva.nl ; a.ozgen-havekotte@uva.nl

Due to limited capacity, please reserve your seat in advance.

As a preparation, we recommend you to read Asli’s article “Ruins, Ruination, and Counter-Memory in Kurdish Women’s Art” (see attachment).

Decolonial Futures of Audiovisual Archives and Archiving – with Asli Özgen, Jamil Fiorino Habib and Giovanna Fossati 

As Scholar in Residence at Eye Filmmuseum, Asli Özgen has teamed up with Giovanna Fossati and Jamil Fiorino-Habib to organise the lecture series ‘Decolonial Futures of Audiovisual Archives and Archiving: Exploring New Interventions, Practices, and Concepts for Social and Environmental Justice’, which took place at Eye Filmmuseum, from September 2024 to January 2025. This series critically examined the role of decolonial critique in shaping the ontology of film museums and explored how this perspective informs new approaches to understanding film museums as agents of social and environmental justice.

The starting point of the series was the observation that, while substantial scholarship has engaged with the decolonization of museums—particularly those housing colonial artifacts and archives—there remains an urgent need to foster dialogue from within the film archival field itself. This initiative sought to center the unique affordances of audiovisual materials and address the specific challenges inherent to film archival practices.

This session will provide an overview of the key research questions that guided the series, as well as a synthesis of the main discussions and significant findings. Additionally, next steps and potential directions for further research will be outlined, funded by the ‘Decolonial Futures Seed Grant’ from the University of Amsterdam.

Bios

Asli Özgen is Assistant Professor of Media and Culture at the University of Amsterdam and Eye’s Scholar in Residence. Her research focuses on film historiography and archives, with an emphasis on feminist and decolonial interventions. She studies the intersections of film and activism, particularly exploring the media heritages of displaced and diasporic communities, and their archival status.

Jamil Fiorino-Habib is a researcher and lecturer in the Media Studies department at the University of Amsterdam specializing in the politics of aesthetics, temporality, and resistance. In tandem with their academic research, Jamil also works with a variety of grassroots collectives in the Netherlands where they help mobilize and organize political work centered around radical system change.

Giovanna Fossati is Professor of Media Heritage, Technology and Culture at Utrecht University. Formerly Chief Curator at Eye Filmmuseum and Professor of Film Heritage at the University of Amsterdam, she specializes in film history, audiovisual archives, restoration, and digitization, with a growing interest in global and sustainable approaches to media preservation. She co-coordinates the inter-institutional research group Moving Images: Preservation, Curation, Exhibition with Floris Paalman.