Beyond Theory is a project of the ICA/PAAG Expert Group, launched in 2022, which aims to provide content related to photographic and audiovisual management, offering operational possibilities through a pragmatic approach. The main objective of this initiative is to interview relevant and highly experienced professionals involved in different aspects of the audiovisual and photographic workflow.
We welcome you to explore the interviews conducted by this ICA Expert Group below!
Dr Elijah Madiba is a sound engineer, digitisation manager, and lecturer in Ethnomusicology at the International Library of African Music (ILAM), Rhodes University. He specialises in the preservation of African musical heritage through archival practices and has played a key role in the ILAM–SAMAP cataloguing project. In addition, he leads music ensembles and teaches at Rhodes University.
Virginia Bazán-Gil is Director of Archives at RTVE and President of FIAT/IFTA. She is also a member of the RTVE–University of Zaragoza Chair, where she works on the application of artificial intelligence to audiovisual archives. She serves on the Advisory Board of the ASBU Academy, the FRAME programme at INA, and the Polish Film Archive. Her teaching experience includes academic and professional training for various companies and public institutions, and she has been an Associate Professor at Universidad Carlos III of Madrid. She is currently Co-Director of the Master’s Degree in Management and Use of Audiovisual Heritage at Universidad Carlos III of Madrid and the RTVE Institute.
David Larsen is the founder of Africa Media Online. A journalist and photographer by trade, David founded Africa Media Online in 2000. David’s passion to see Africans telling Africa’s story to African and global audiences has led him to develop systems for the effective delivery of media content, develop training that ensures African media and heritage professionals are keeping up with global trends and standards, and develop markets for Africa’s story. He has also been involved in initiating several heritage and media-related projects to further the vision of Africans telling Africa’s story.
Jolė Stimbirytė studied Sociology at the Vilnius University and received her master’s degree in 1999. From 1995 till 1999 she worked as an Archivist of Sound and Video Documents Department at the Lithuanian Archive of Image and Sound (later – Lithuanian Central State Archive). From 1999 till February 2023, she was the institution’s Head of the Audiovisual Documents Preservation Department. Since February 2023 she has been the Head of the Film Department. She was also responsible for management of different national and international projects (MIDAS, EFG, EUScreenXL, E-kinas, etc.). Jolė Stimbirytė is a Chair of Lithuanian Archivists Association as well as a Board member of Baltic Audiovisual Archival Council and a member of Cinema Culture Association.
Rūdolfs Henčels started working at the Latvian State Archive of Audiovisual Documents in 2013, focusing on the digitization of video documents. In 2016, he began studying for a degree in cinematography at the Culture Academy of Latvia, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2019. From 2020 to 2022, Rūdolfs worked as the Deputy Manager of the Audiovisual Documents Digitization Department, and since 2022, he has been the Head of the department. In 2024, he attended a film restoration course at the FIAF Film Restoration Summer School in Bologna.
Aap Tepper works as the head of Digitisation department at Film Archives of the National Archives of Estonia, where he oversees the digitisation process of films, photo, sound, and audiovisual documents. Aap has a background in photography, and prior to leading the digitisation department, he managed large-scale photo digitisation projects that involved numerous Estonian institutions. He is a graduate of the Estonian Academy of Arts Master’s program in Photography and is also a visual artist. His artistic work explores the intersections of memory, space, and photographic representation. Utilising personal images as well as pictures sourced from social media or archives, his work often takes the form of site-specific installations.
Jill Delaney holds an MA in Canadian Studies from Carleton University and a PhD in the History and Theory of Art and Architecture from the State University of New York at Binghamton. Since 1998, she has worked as an archivist in Photography Acquisition and Research at Library and Archives Canada. She is also a member of the Steering Committee of the ICA Photographic and Audiovisual Archives Expert Group.
Ilse Assmann is a qualified media information specialist with expertise and extensive experience in the management of broadcast archives (Radio and TV), organisational information & knowledge management, and heritage-related activities. Ilse has an extensive network of experts world-wide to deal with any specific need. Ilse is a SACIA Certified Broadcast & Communications Technology Professional.
Today, we are pleased to present the third interview of the Beyond Theory project in 2024. The interview was offered by Dr. Tshepo Mosweu (University of Botswana), and it was conducted by Lerato Tshabalala, New Professional Alumnus.
In this interview, Roca y Ortíz emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of their work, intersecting History, Anthropology, Communication, and Latin American studies. The recent publication “Tejedores de Imágenes” encapsulates their methodological reflections and pedagogical activities, aiming to address the challenges of researching with images and fostering visual literacy [...]
Dr. Costanza Caraffa has been Head of the Photothek at the Kunsthistorisches Institut (KHI) in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut since 2006. She holds a PhD in art history and before taking up her role as Head of the Photo Archive at the KHI of Florence she has been collaborating as a researcher with various academic institutions such as the Bibliotheca Hertziana (Rome), the Mendrisio Academy of Architecture (CH) and the University of Lugano (CH). In 2009 Caraffa initiated the “Photo Archives” conference series and authored the Florence Declaration – Recommendations for the Preservation of Analogue Photo Archives.
Dr. Ute Dercks, an accomplished art historian, earned her Ph.D. in 2002 from Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf. With diverse roles in research and curation, including at Schloß Benrath and the Kunsthalle Hamburg, she has been a Scientific collaborator in the Photothek of the Art Historical Institute in Florence since October 2004. Dr. Dercks currently serves as the Deputy Head of the Photothek, contributing to the advancement of art history.
Conducted by Juan Alonso and Giulia Martini, members of the ICA/PAAG Working Group.
As the Senior Program Manager of Archives at WITNESS, Yvonne Ng is dedicated to supporting people to create and use archives for human rights change and accountability. She assists and trains grassroots partners, produces sharable learning materials, and advocates on issues related to human rights archives.
La Digitizadora, a "citizen platform" created in 2019 with the aim of accompanying social groups and individuals in digitising, describing and disseminating their audiovisual memory, which is preserved in analog supports (video-recordings and films) at risk of decay. The group consists of archival, audiovisual, arts, community engagement and computer professionals. They define themselves as "A non-profit collective wishing to contribute to preserving the audiovisual memory of social movements through a participatory process, and recognising Collective Memory as part of a plural perspective of History".
Randi Cecchine has a background in documentary filmmaking, media education, and educational film distribution. She is passionate about the potential of Artificial Intelligence in A/V archives. In the context of a Master’s programme in Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image at the University of Amsterdam, her academic interest focussed on how institutions are implementing the use of AI systems. She was also intern at the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision. As part of her academic research, she recently wrote an interesting and highly recommended series of blog posts offering examples of how AI is being used for search and discovery, creative reuse, education, audience engagement, and collections as data. During the interview, Randi addresses technological innovations in the management of audiovisual archives very attentively, while taking into account profound ethical, philosophical, environmental and human rights issues.
Brecht Declercq is the current President of FIAT/IFTA and Digitisation and Acquisition Manager at meemoo, the Flemish Institute for Archives. He worked as a radio archivist for the Flemish public broadcaster VRT from 2004 until 2008 and as a policy researcher for FARO in 2008. From 2008 until 2013, he was in charge of the digitisation of VRT’s radio archives. Since June 2013 he is responsible for the digitisation of the Flemish audiovisual heritage preserved at Flemish broadcasters, cultural heritage institutions, city archives, government agencies and performing arts organisations. Also the acquisition of born digital heritage collections is part of his responsibilities.