(Un)sighted Archives of Migration - Spaces of Encounter and Resistance. Introduction

The article introduces the special issue of Visual Anthropology on the role of the archive in contexts of migration. The issue takes a close look at (un)sighted migratory archives and archives of migration and the role of photography therein. Acknowledging migration as part of social practice and collective memory, it highlights the relevance of migratory archives for individual and collective subjectivities. With a transversal perspective across the fields of art, anthropology and social activism, the contributions analyze the complexities of power relations, spatial and temporal dynamics, media practices, and meaning production involved in the making, maintaining, contemplation, appropriation, destruction and loss of such archives. Rethinking methodological and theoretical approaches, the introduction as well as the individual contributions engage with archives as spaces of encounter and resistance in a liminal zone of visibility and invisibility.