Archiving COVID-19 Heritage in Ho Chi Minh City

Project Type: Phase 2 Projects - Commissions (Sep 2022-Sep 2023)

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Project Region: Asia Pacific

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Description

Synopsis and Position

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted almost every facet of our world, prompting a variety of material responses in societies across the globe. This project draws on approaches in contemporary archaeology to witness and document COVID-19 materiality - posters, signage, murals, graffiti, discarded personal protective equipment, disinfection paraphernalia, barricades - on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam through photographs and sketches to create a fully accessible online archive of COVID-19 heritage. The project is timely. As lockdowns fade from memory, debates are ongoing as to how the extraordinary period of pandemic will be remembered. Meanwhile, material traces of pandemic are beginning to disappear as daily life resumes under ‘new normal’ conditions. Our research seizes the opportunity not only to create an open access archive of COVID-19 heritage but to test the extent to which material perspectives in research on disasters can improve understandings of the relationships between public action and government policies.

Objectives and Methods

Methodological tools to document unexpected, ephemeral events and investigate the social dynamics of disasters and disaster recovery are lacking. This study uses a mixed methods approach incorporating ethnographic, archaeological and arts-based methods to create an ‘archive from below’ that acknowledges alternative visions of the past and may offer a counterpoint to official narratives. Through informal conversations, semi-structured interviews and potentially through extended ethnographic encounters, the three research team members will engage with city dwellers who interface with transient COVID-19 materiality to understand the social meaning they ascribe to it. By employing visual arts practices - sketching, painting, photography - we stretch the meaning of archive and engage non-academic audiences. And in creating a social media repository, we will be developing an innovative mode of archival practice that accommodates diverse community experiences of pandemic. Learning from our research may support and inform others seeking to understand the social impacts of disasters through the analysis of space and material.

Workshops and Events

June 2023-Rachel Tough (PI) and Diana Lê (Co-I) presented the project at the ‘Heritage, Community, Archives: Methods, Case Studies, Collaboration’ at Sheffield Hallam University. conference July 2023 -In-person ‘‘ and pilot exhibition held at ‘Still Thinking Spaces’ event space in Ho Chi Minh City, facilitated by Hao Bui (Co-I) conversation cafe

Activities

September 2022 - scoping visits in local neighbourhoods in Ho Chi Minh City September 2022 - data collection across Ho Chi Minh City October - December 2022 - design and setup of website and social media channel containing COVID-19 materiality and memories, devise metadata schema January - March 2023 - application for AHRC IAA follow-on funding (successful) April 2023 - event planning; further website functionality added June - July 2023 Launch of digital exhibition, organised by Sandra Nikusev (Co-I) November 2023 -

Legacy IF page:https://imaginingfutures.world/projects/archiving-covid-19-heritage-in-ho-chi-minh-city/