The Story of the Moscow Archive of Russian Contemporary Art explores the subversive potential of archives, referring to the Moscow archive of Russian contemporary art and focusing on the archive of the former National Center for Contemporary Art (NCCA).

Driven by personal experience working in the museum, the author examines how archival practices can resist the archival regime. Appealing to Ariella Aïsha Azoulay's concept of unlearning in relation to the archival regime, described in her book Potential History: Unlearning Imperialism, the research investigates in what way archives, historically used to legitimise power, can be democratised and be more inclusive.

Arguing that the foundation of the Moscow archive of Russian contemporary art is based mostly on the works of artists who were in opposition to Soviet Realism and operated outside the official language, the thesis reveals the subversive potential of this archive. The author sets the task of exploring what tools of unlearning can be applied to reveal repressive strategies of the power structures and preserve the “non-official” stories of this archive. By analysing the collective intentions that shaped the Moscow archive of Russian contemporary art and the role of personal connections today, this work challenges dominant narratives of the archival regime. Elaborating on Sadie Plant's concept of hypertext, the author addresses the archival thresholds and proposes using digital archives as a hypertext that can hack control and surveillance systems. The research suggests that while digital archives hold promise for breaking down barriers, a critical approach is needed to navigate bureaucratic and regulatory constraints.

Author: Anastasia Nefedova