“Om plats inte ges för ett Svart arkiv, skapar vi det”: En institutionsteoretisk diskursanalys om Black Archives Swedens plats i Konstvärlden.

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines Black Archives Sweden (BAS), a contemporary archive centering the experiences of afroswedes and Black people. The archive raises the question of whose story is worthy of telling, and through whose eyes it is being documented. To approach the material, the thesis applies discourse analysis in combination with postcolonial perspectives and theories as well as institutional art theory. Arthur Danto, George Dickie, and Howard Becker have all formulated closely related theories of the art world. These social constructivist theories enable an analysis of the statements of various persons active within the art world of BAS. Furthermore, enabling an analysis of the main question of the thesis: what kind of a place is Black Archives Sweden in the context of the art world? Theory of performativity through Mieke Bal is applied to answer the question of: how does BAS work with representing contemporary afroswede experience? The thesis concludes that BAS functions as an art world in itself. The main function of the art world, as well as its importance, lies in its ability to contribute necessary knowledge about afroswede artistic interests to more established art world institutions. This is achieved by creating a porous environment where the possibilities of the art world are formulated in symbiosis between the different participating roles within BAS.