IASA-BAAC 2026 Conference

Name: A Community of Communities: Collaborative Preservation of LGBTQ+ Archives in the Balkans
Start: 2026-10-22T11:00:00+0300
End: 2026-10-22T12:00:00+0300

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A Community of Communities: Collaborative Preservation of LGBTQ+ Archives in the Balkans

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST

Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

As international funding for LGBTQ+ cultural heritage initiatives declines, community archives are increasingly building and maintaining their own infrastructure to preserve queer histories. In this session, panelists from Serbia and the United States present the work of Arkadija Archive, Community Archiving Workshop (CAW) Collective, Balkan Community Memory Project (BCM) and Balkan Network of Queer Archives as a model for collective preservation and stewardship of LGBTQ+ heritage in the Balkans.

Arkadija archive exists to resist erasure by collecting, preserving, and amplifying LGBTIQ+ memories, histories, and voices that have been systematically marginalized. They have collaborated with the CAW Collective and BCM to support community skill-sharing and jump-start preservation of these materials through a series of workshops that invite archivists and librarians from the region to participate. A 2024 workshop in Belgrade brought community members together for training in VHS and newspaper preservation, alongside screenings of rare footage documenting the city’s first Pride parade. A 2026 workshop (scheduled for April 2026) expands this model into a two-day, regional training focused on digital preservation and community-led digitization of analog media. The invitation for participation extends to queer organizations throughout the Balkans via the Balkan Network of Queer Archives inaugural gathering in Belgrade.

This session offers a model for sustaining community-driven audiovisual preservation under conditions of financial precarity, with practical and ethical insights for archivists working in similarly constrained contexts worldwide. Grounded in collective care and community, panelists share lessons learned in ensuring sustainable long-term storage and access for audiovisual materials, and in navigating privacy, consent, and risk—particularly where visibility carries social or political consequences.

Speakers

Shay Hix

Founding Member, CAW Collective

Shay Hix is a core member of the Community Archiving Workshop (CAW) Collective and a Fulbright Specialist. She co-authored the study Mapping the Magnetic Media Landscape, published by BAVC Media in September 2025. She has worked as curator at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum... Read More →

Jelena Vasiljevic

Executive Director, Arkadija Archive / Rainbow Ignite

Executive Director of Arkadija Archive and Rainbow Ignite.Experienced Program Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the civic & social organization industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Capacity Development, Organizational Development, Event Management, Volunteer... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EEST
Events hall: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania: Great Hall

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IASA-BAAC 2026 Conference

Shay Hix

Jelena Vasiljevic

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IASA-BAAC 2026 Conference

Shay Hix

Jelena Vasiljevic

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