“The Archive and and and The Repertoire”: An Interview with Diana Taylor

In this wide-ranging interview, Diana Taylor reflects on her field-changing book The Archive and the Repertoire, revisiting its origins, evolution, and continued relevance. Taylor then discusses her work in founding and leading the Hemispheric Institute Digital Video Library (HIDVL), her critique of archival authority as a colonial tool, and the ongoing need for anticolonial, embodied, and community-based archival practices. As the title of the interview emphasizes, she challenges binary thinking around archives and performance, and discusses their interdependence and mutual transformation. Addressing contemporary issues from AI to extractivism, Taylor warns against the illusion of total access while advocating for presence and ethical curation. The interview also introduces Taylor’s current archival project on Mexican performance artist Jesusa Rodríguez, which explores how archives can become spaces of transformation, interaction, and renewed political engagement.