Hello

Archives have a tendency to disappear into boxes and hard drives and become, essentially, invisible. At Ada X, Matricules functions as a large repository of archival information dating back to when the organization was founded 30 years ago. This includes videos, images, and documents.

Working with the archives as part of my stage, one of my first tasks was digitizing DV Minis between the 2000s and 2010s. Before this, I had already been working on interactive prototypes for archival storytelling with Buds. Remixing the existing project and building it out, I want to offer an interactive and experimental approach to play with Ada X's archives.

Time Travel Has Always Been Possible

Using a custom keyboard and hosting a local server, we can serve as much content from Ada X's archive as we like. I'd like to start with video clips, and perhaps add images or posters along the way. We can also have secret 'Easter Egg' combos to show surprise content.

This season's theme is Human-Scale Technology. Ada X, arguably, has always been human-scale. From Art's Birthday Parties to Femme Branches, the spirit of DIY and community has always been central to the mandate. As media art evolves, how can we honor the past and engage with archives in a way that is both critical and playful?

Ada X answers this question with the programming and people it supports.

I am particularly interested in bringing this project to life because I have the general know-how and enjoy the challenge. And, it ties into my own research and practice around interactive intimacies.

FAQ

Why a custom keyboard?

A Custom keyboard allows for multiple instances of the same letter, like A for example. It appears 4 times in the final phrase. A custom keyboard is also poetic and lovely, and can push the conceptions of what interactactive media can do, especially where archives are concerned.

What's the budget?

The basic budget to start with can be found in this sheet. There's also wires and soldering equipment, but that should be covered between my personal stash and what's available at ADA X. It's well under $100!!

Why Time Travel?

Initially, I was thinking about 'Happy Birthday ADA X', as a way to support the 30th anniversary celebrations. Talking it through with other staff (Steph!!), they mentioned it would be cool to have an installation for the archive that can travel anywhere, or be set up in the space or for different events.

Keeping to the poetic theme and style of the work I was proposing, Time Travel seemed like a cool way to think about archives.

What's your expereince with this kind of work?

I have made work with with circuits before. Sonic Garden was made with a lot of help, as my first arduino project. I got lucky because it was funded by a biennial. After this, I went to Berlin to learn electronics at School of Making. Then, I failed a bunch with soft electronics, and eventually built a little web portal that I still have to launch publicly. Previous to all of this, I taught adults and kids how circuits worked with paper circuits and Makey Makeys at a Public Library for about a year. That's what inspired met to get into electronics. They're magic!

Oh, I was also an Open Hardware Association fellow in 2024.

Basically, there's a lot to learn, and I'm still a beginner. But I know how to work on a breadboard, solder, and have experience failing at hardware. Keyboard builds are well documented, so its a fairly starter level project and I am confident I can pull it off.

If the keyboard works out, do you have further plans?

If I could figure it out, it would be cool to add a rasberry pi Zero or something similar, and package the whole keyboard as a standalone application.

As in, you could plug the keyboard into any screen and the insttallation would start too play. And you could have secret combos to unlock modes to change files, or close it down / eject.

It can be done (and I have been thinking about it for a long time!!), but there node.js and other dependencies involved, and its not as straightforward as a simple html page.

Decentralized technologies are cool and I think increasingly important for us to work with. But also, it's fun to make cool things.

What if you fail?

I sleep on it, take a break, and come back eventually. Plus, I'm hoping that if I do run into a truly insurmountable block, I could reach out to folks I've met through ADAX, or folks the org knows, to help me out of a sticky spot. ...Truly hoping it doesn't come to that, but if this works, its gonna be extremely cool and fun way to make the archives playful for public use.