When collections are institutionalised and preserved over a long period, archives and museums are formed. And while museums have always played an important part in preserving valuable collections, archives are often overlooked, even though they are equally important in preserving an institution’s collective memory – after all, historical records without context is meaningless. Archives are the key to interpreting museum objects, as their archives contain countless primary historical records and documents, 2-dimenerional narratives in themselves.

Dr Sian Tiley-Nel, Head of the University of Pretoria (UP) Museums and the Mapungubwe Archive, says that it is vital that institutional archives be given their due. “The archives held by UP need more voices [to champion the idea] that archives matter. Archives do not just exist – they are memory banks, inextricably linked to the institution to serve as evidence, governance, accountability, democracy and even justice.”

UP boasts archival collections that is brimming with the institution’s collective memory over more than 110 years.The UP Archives (UPA) is the University’s institutional memory bank, preserving its records and keeping it accountable to information legislation, both nationally and internationally. The UPA stretches back to when Transvaal University College opened its doors in 1908. The developments, polyphonic voices and memories of the institution are documented in a variety of records, from the first handwritten minutes of the first Student Representative Council (which includes a request for an 11am tea break) to decisions taken recently by the University Executive amid the current pandemic.

The UPA captures diverse voices in over a century of records in collections that range from photographs of events, and campus and student publications like Trek and Perdeby to official documents such as the Minutes of all the faculties, Senate and Council, among others. Directed by Professor Karen Harris, Head of the UPA, these archives have served as a benchmark and advisor for other archival institutions in southern Africa.

The newest archival project is the UP Museum Archive, which was initiated as part of the UP Museums’ strategy to preserve primary museum material related to museum collections. These records are used for curation, identification, authentication, provenance and other research matters that arise from dealing with museum collections. The archive includes various material related to museum collections – such as electronic records, documents, letters and photographs – some dating back to the 18^th century such as the Van Gybland Oosterhoff collection. In addition there are more than 30 different collections and associated, that will open research opportunities and serve as support to new knowledge on the collections of UP Museums.

The Mapungubwe Archive is one of the University’s flagship archives as it is the only such archive in existence. Under the administration of UP Museums, it preserves primary records such as rare books, historical and contemporary documents, and an incalculable number of photographs. In more recent decades, it has acquired materials beyond the confines of primary archaeological records to include legal documents, cartographic and illustrative material, oral history records, ephemera, biographical collections, and printed and digital media.

Dating back over 85 years, the Mapungubwe materials and records continue to be considered rare, fragile, irreplaceable, and vulnerable. The development of a conservation-grade repository has only recently been possible. In 2018, the archive was awarded a grant by the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation in association with the US Embassy in Pretoria for the ongoing preservation of this valuable collection.

The Architecture Archives at UP (AAUP), managed within the Department of Architecture, is a curated aggregation of significant architectural collections championed by many and led by the department’s, Dr Johan Swart. It serves as a project for the preservation and interpretation of architectural legacies, as well as an institutional unit for the specialised management of architectural records that continues a 75-year legacy of scholarship.

The AAUP serves as one of the most comprehensive records of 20^th century architecture in South Africa and features the work of significant modern movement architects. From the flagship collections of Norman Eaton and Gordon McIntosh to many undiscovered materials and items of architectural history, the archive safeguards architectural archival heritage, fosters research and facilitates informed architectural discussions within an academic context.

The UPA’s Art Archives, the only art archive in the country, is the largest collection of South African art-related documents, and includes catalogues, clippings, photographs, books, personal documents and information related to South African art and artists. This unique collection draws interest from members of the academic community undertaking research on South African art and provides valuable material to the contemporary local art sector and to society in general.

The gorwing partnerships and collaborations with acacemic departments and these archives should be driven by taking on interdisciplinary archival research and the creation of new knowledge as well as preserving the institutions’ historical memory.. UP’s GLAM (Galleries/Gardens – Libraries-Archives-Museums) collaborative projects serve as evidence of this.

The recent fire that devastated the University of Cape Town’s archives, and the tragic and irrevocable loss of historical material should be a wake-up call to all universities that archives matter. If universities aim to be responsible stewards of not only their history but also the history of the African continent, there is an earnest need to campaign for the underrepresented voices within archives, and the “futurising” of archives at universities. Without archives, university history of the past, present and future simply would not exist.