Archiviare il contemporaneo. Lo Spazio di Via Lazzaro Palazzi come paradigma

The archive is an inclusive and never static memory device. Thus, it is necessary to take care of it, carefully considering the specificity of collectibles, reviewing and updating continuously the criteria and methods of selection, cataloging and conservation. Only through this assumption of responsibility, which also involves raising awareness of public attention, the archive redefines itself in the present, and in anticipation of the future, as a place of (mnestic, political, social, cultural) possibility. This article presents how the project of the enhancement of the Archive of the artist-run space Lo Spazio di Via Lazzaro Palazzi (Milan, 1989-1992) at the Museo del Novecento di Milano was created collectively -- as a collaboration between the artists, the museum and the scientific coordinators of the project (among which the author) -- with this awareness. The wish is that the constitution, donation and enhancement of this specific Archive will represent a paradigm for the preservation, accessibility and (public) knowledge of contemporary artist archives.