Scoping the Archives: Grassroots Design Archives and Practices in Asia
Presented by Slow Burn Books
Details
Free, no booking required
National Gallery of Victoria, Saint Kilda Road, Melbourne VIC, Australia
Dates
Sat 16 May 12.30 – 1.30pm
Access
Exploring the idea of archiving as community action, this event brings together Saluhan Collective (Naarm/Philippines) and astra* (UK/Singapore/Hong Kong) in a discussion that considers decentralised methods of archiving design and visual culture in Asia, presented by Slow Burn Books.
From re-imagining archives as networks to re-purposing piracy as access, the conversation considers the archival impulse alongside how visual culture moves and circulates in the region. As an anchor to understanding archival practices outside of an institutional framework, this event provides local and international perspectives on design tendencies when approaching the subject of archiving in Asia and the diaspora.
In their ongoing research project Archiving Archiving, astra* (Dr Vivien Chan and Zara Arshad) researches grassroots design archives across East and Southeast Asia. This event is part of their forthcoming publication with Slow Burn Books.
Participants
Nikki Lam (moderator)
Nikki Lam (she/they) is an artist-curator and filmmaker based in Melbourne/Naarm and Hong Kong.
Working primarily with moving images and text, their work contemplates time, memory and impermanence.
Their work has been shown, published and screened across Australia and internationally.
Nikki is currently co-director of Hyphenated Projects and co-founder of the art book publisher and bookshop Slow Burn Books.
Dr Vivien Chan
Dr Vivien Chan (she/they) is a design historian, educator and imagemaker based in the UK.
She researches design and material culture in twentieth-century Asia, with a focus on Hong Kong.
In 2025, she founded Out of Practice, an experimental design research lab based in the People’s Hall in Nottingham, UK.
Chan is currently an Asia in the World fellow at the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden, Netherlands.
Zara Arshad
Zara Arshad (she/her) is a researcher and curator interested in twentieth- and twenty-first-century material and visual culture, liminal spaces, speculative histories and design futures.
She has previously held roles at the Asia Culture Center, South Korea; Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A); Design History Society UK; Beijing Design Week; and Icograda World Design Congress, Beijing.
Arshad is currently a doctoral researcher based at the V&A and the University of Brighton.
Saluhan Collective
Saluhan Collective is the creative collaboration of artists Aida Azin, Catherine Ortega-Sandow and MJ Flamiano.
Since 2019, they have developed a diverse body of work, including exhibitions, events, workshops, community gatherings and film screenings, in partnership with organisations such as Arts House, SEVENTH, Next Wave, Footscray Community Arts, Testing Grounds and Siteworks.
Their practice is deeply rooted in Filipinx concepts of kinship and reciprocity, with a focus on creating spaces that interweave artistry and community engagement.