Volunteering at Interference Archive: Getting Started!

For those of you who don’t get to visit Interference Archive regularly, we thought we would start a series of short posts about what we do as volunteers. This post was written by Chris Moyer, who has just started volunteering over the last few months.
If you’re interested in volunteering at Interference Archive, check out our website for info on how to get involved, or email info@interferencearchive.org. You can also support the amazing work of all our volunteers by making a financial donation.
My first encounter with Interference Archive (IA) was in the Agitprop exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. I was happy to find out that IA hosted open archive hours, exhibits, and events as well as chances to volunteer. I also came across the if a song could be freedom mixtapes and references to IA by other New York based art organizations and was impressed with the local collaboration fostered by IA. As someone interested in art history and social movements, I was excited by the Archive’s role to inform present day collective action through access to historical objects.
After attending a general meeting, I learned that IA is organized in several Working Groups. One group focuses on curating exhibits, while another coordinates events, and another maintains the archive itself. There are seven groups in total and each one delegates work amongst its members and volunteers. Within the structure however, many people overlap groups and the level of time commitment required varies. This flexibility has made it easy for me to become increasingly involved from attending events to now having volunteered several times.
I have attended a panel talk of feminist comic book authors, participated in a theater-inspired group dialog on Afro-Asian solidarity, catalogued zines, helped setup the current Mobile Print Power exhibit, and learned the basic steps of print-making all through IA. I hope to continue meeting core IA members, community artists, and newcomers like myself while volunteering at the Mobile Print Power events throughout the summer!