Digital Mini-Archives: Social Media Users as Curators of an Architectural Utopia

Authors

  • Jovana Tošić Information Technology School – ITS Comtrade, Belgrade, Serbia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i28.562

Keywords:

architecture archives; digital archives; social media; architectural utopia; Instagram; experimental design; experimental project.

Abstract

This paper explores the importance and meaning of a new concept of architectural archives – digital mini-archives in the form of social media profiles (Instagram profiles), whether they are public or private. The paper's interpretation of digital architectural archives is based on Jacques Derrida's interpretation of archives. The aim is to analyze the relationship between archivists and users in the context of social media platforms, and the structure and content of digital mini-archives. I tried to select examples of different Instagram profiles whose content (photos, videos, and quotes) relates to architectural history and architectural design presented in an innovative manner. The hypothesis emphasizes a curating role of social media users as interpreters of architectural history references and their (new) meanings, as well as curators of the future of architecture. Also, the concept of architectural utopia concerns Nathaniel Coleman's theory of utopia in architecture and its contemporary interpretations. There is a strong bond between architectural utopia and digital mini-archives which enable architecture's utopian potential because of their flexibility, openness to change, and transformability. Thus, experimental projects with utopian potential are created based on digital mini-archives. However, do these digital mini-archives contribute by deciding which (part of) architectural history ought to be forgotten or remembered in collective memory and translated to another temporal context through experimental architectural design?

Author Biography

Jovana Tošić, Information Technology School – ITS Comtrade, Belgrade, Serbia

Jovana Tošić is an architect and a PhD, born in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1988. She received a Master of Architecture in 2012 at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture and defended her doctoral thesis at the same faculty in 2022. Her academic career began as a teaching assistant (PhD student) in architectural history and theory subjects at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture. She has worked as a Professor of Vocational Studies at Information Technology School – ITS Belgrade since 2016. As an author, she participated in many international scientific academic conferences: at TU Delft, Nieuwe Instituut (Rotterdam), UPM – Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge). Her research interests include architectural design, conservation and restoration of architectural heritage, theory of architecture, architectural history, and contemporary architectural aesthetics. As co-author, she has done several interior, reconstruction, and revitalization projects in Belgrade.

References

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Published

01.10.2024

How to Cite

Tošić, J. (2024). Digital Mini-Archives: Social Media Users as Curators of an Architectural Utopia. AM Journal of Art and Media Studies, (34), 27–38. https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i28.562

Issue

No. 34 (2024): Issue No. 34, September 2024 – Main Topic: Art and Archives in the Digital Age

Section

Main Topic: Art and Archives in the Digital Age

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