October is finally here and that means it’s American Archives Month! Every year since 2006, cultural institutions around the United States participate in events to get the word out about what archives really are, and the role archivists play in preserving and presenting history.
George Mason University’s Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) is a part of the Virginia Archives Month Committee, which began the planning stages many months ago. The Virginia caucus of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference (MARAC) came up with the theme “Spirits in the Archives,” which includes ghostly spirits, school spirit, or alcoholic spirits. One way to celebrate VA Archives Month is by participating in the REMIX contest.
REMIX “is a contest to inspire literal and figurative out-of-the-box ideas for cultural heritage collections…Archives aren’t just about serious research, they can be about serious (or not so serious) art! Redaction poetry, GIFs, collages, coloring pages, memes, and other digital interventions are all ways to remix…Share your creations with #archivesremix + #archivespirits” (tumblr). Participants can view images here, remix them, and share to the tumblr page using the above hashtags. Winners will be announced at the end of the month and will be given a prize.Your source material must be clearly marked as:
- in the public domain
- have a ‘no known copyright restrictions’ statement
- or have a Creative Commons license which allows for reuse.
You can enter up to three submissions, but are only eligible for one prize (excluding People’s Choice). Submissions can be made between September 1 to October 23, 2017, and will only be accepted digitally. However, you may choose to print and manipulate the source material through a variety of artistic methods, then take a photo or scan of your finished product for the submission.
All entries will be judged on creativity and originality of entry (correct link to source material and contextual information). Entries that meet these criteria will be showcased on the REMIX tumblr and otherwise celebrated via the Interwebs. Winners will be announced November 1 (taken from James Madison University blog, click for more information on prizes and contest details).
