Identity Information in Object-Level Descriptions: Towards Inclusive Cataloguing Contemporary Photography

This research follows an epistemological questioning among archival practitioners who are challenging methods of historical recordkeeping. The National Gallery of Canada’s contemporary photography holdings serve as a case study to question what information is deemed necessary in records documentation and the ways that information reaches the archive. I propose including self-disclosed object-maker identity information in museum databases to better contextualize, and enable the interpretation of collection objects and allow more accurate representation of artists and makers. Self-disclosed identity information shifts knowledge production away from the institution to the object-maker, decentering information and power structures away from collecting institutions. This study presents the Inclusive Cataloguing Toolkit as a practical solution. Its creation and implementation is inspired by contemporary archival documentation practices such as participatory description, archival autonomy, and record co-creation that relocate information, knowledge, and power structures to bridge the needs of inclusive cataloguing and provide a framework for future change.