Event overview
The Centre for Postcolonial Studies hosts curator, art-historian and cultural theorist Paulina E. Varas Alarcón speaking on embodied methods in archival work on Palestine.
"What touches us as a methodological principle"
This work proposes a sensitive register as a means of accessing an archive on Palestine located in Chile, shifting research from a purely documentary approach to an embodied encounter with archival materials. Based on an initial visit to the Archivo Tierra Santa (ATS), it develops the concept of 'what touches us' as a methodological principle that integrates touch, care, and relationality. The presentation engages with the work of Karen Barad, Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Aby Warburg, and D. W. Winnicott, alongside a specific scene of archival consultation in which the body, breathing, rhythm, and document handling become essential conditions for knowledge production. The archive is thus redefined from a repository of information to an infrastructure of contact, enabling the activation of diverse temporalities and the continuity of collective experiences in the present. Situated within the Chilean context of archival practices, the article proposes a methodology for artistic research grounded in care and affect.
Paulina E. Varas Alarcón is Professor at Campus Creativo, Universidad Andrés Bello, Chile. She earned her PhD in Art History and Theory from the University of Barcelona. Her research centers on contemporary art and cultural processes. Currently, she leads the research project ‘Those Who Narrate the Images: An Interdisciplinary Study of the Holy Land Archive’
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 20 May 2026 | 4:00pm - 6:00pm |
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