Graduation project
The Boxes in the Attic
Rosa Raaphorst
An archive was created of a radical feminist movement from the 80s that the designer’s mother belonged to.
Institutionalized archives preserve an official version of history, and can act as proof of activists’ accomplishments and mishaps in the past. What is often overlooked is the micro-histories of activists’ everyday experiences and their current-day reflections. Following a personal inquiry into the activist past of her mother, Rosa Raaphorst has created a decentralized archive of the Vrouwenschool, a radical feminist movement from the 80s. These memories are activated through an interactive hologram taking the form of a crystal ball. Rather than merely providing evidence of existence and showing the past, this archive asks: what can these activist women teach the next generation?