Archipelago Archive

The ARchipelago – a site-specific archival platform for public space

Digital art and research project

The ARchipelago is a site-specific archival platform for public space in the post-Yugoslav context that brings together video documents in an AR app along with an online archive.

The ARchipelago app and online archive launches are set for 2024 in Sarajevo, Prizren, Mostar, and Belgrade.

Thirty years after the breakup of Yugoslavia, many dedicated archival initiatives offer a critical, multi-perspective view of the region’s recent history. By transforming a smartphone into an easily accessible media archaeological device free from local political restrictions, the ARchipelago combines diverse archival voices. It utilizes GPS-tagged audio-visual testimonies, making them accessible through an augmented reality (AR) app that enables users to interact with and explore the locations these documents are associated with. The ARchipelago explores the technology of AR as a hands-on participatory archival practice within public space that offers intersections of contested and conflicting narratives in four site-specific urban case studies across the post-Yugoslav space. Together, they create a multidirectional picture of history in which there is more to discover and share.