Deadline 2025: AIATSIS and the audiovisual archive

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), Australia’s archival repository for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage, is the nation’s peak body for collecting, recording, archiving and returning Indigenous-related knowledge and information. Since 1964 AIATSIS has amassed the world’s largest collection of print, audio and film materials on Australian First Nations peoples. This paper canvasses the Deadline 2025 campaign for audiovisual collections at risk and the complexities of preserving audiovisual archives. It argues that while the Plan’s institutional focus is essential, equally essential is institutional leadership in establishing integration with community-held archives, supported by appropriately resourced and skilled community-based partnerships.