Objects in Motion: Rethinking Archives and Memory-Making Practices through the Trajectories of Protest Artifacts

Inspired by Trouillot’s call to investigate how history works and his belief that "history begins with bodies and artifacts" (Trouillot 1995:29), this paper focuses on the archives of protest and the material objects found within them. It explores the role these objects (e.g. photographs, pamphlets, banners, personal items) play in archiving and memory-making practices by following their trajectories. Drawing on interviews with Polish and German activists, curators, and archivists who co-create institutions and initiatives that archive various forms of resistance and grassroots opposition, it sheds more light on (1) what happens to these objects within these institutions and archival initiatives, (2) their journey before and into the archive, and (3) their paths beyond these spaces.

The study reveals that protest artifacts do not simply “rest in archives.” Instead, they continue to circulate, both physically and symbolically, contributing to ongoing memory production and linking various acts of resistance. Furthermore, it indicates that these objects are crucial to relationships with/within civil society networks: through practices such as gifting, borrowing, exchanging, and buying/selling, these artifacts initiate, sustain, and negotiate connections, at times also creating opportunities for archives to become more dynamic and inclusive. These findings challenge the traditional view of archives as static repositories, repositioning them as active nodes within broader networks of contentious politics. Additionally, they highlight the fluid nature of memory production, revealing the connections and tensions inherent in the ways protest is remembered and reinterpreted.

This paper is based on interviews conducted as part of the project ‘Activism and Knowledge Production. Archives and Protest Data in Contentious Politics Field,’ funded by the National Science Center in Poland.