Dis-archiviare l’archivio: da luogo di memoria a terzo luogo

Engaging with an archive means contributing to the creation and transmission of cultural identity while shaping cultural policies. This is especially relevant in an era where peripheral memories often replace human memory— made up of emotions, images, thoughts, colors, sounds, and scents. Interacting with archival materials becomes a necessary yet paradoxical act, challenging the notion of the archive as something static or forgettable. If an archived case is simply stored away, never to be revisited, it is essential instead to activate and share these documents, allowing them to speak. This process fosters historical research, shapes our understanding of the future, and strengthens the sense of community. Exploring archival records is akin to walking through the streets and alleys of a village that remains alive in memory (cf. De Martino 1959), a space that reinforces a shared historical consciousness. In 2023, these principles shaped a project designed to strengthen the Teatro Koreja Archive as both a «realm of memory» (cf. Nora 1984-92) and a community asset.