About

Put shortly, a feminist archive values the process over the product. Working within the critical work of Drs. Michelle Caswell and Marika Cifor, TFI shapes our archival practices within feminist ethics of care. This means we prioritize building relationships with our record holders and view ourselves as caretakers of their materials. This practice is a part of information activism—not only uncovering and making available hidden narratives but building strong relationships within our community while we do it. Put simply, feminism is a verb, not a noun, and the inner workings of a feminist archive reflect that.

No, we do not. We are a postcustodial archive, providing digital access to materials preserved through our partnership program in the TFI Digital Archive.

TFI prioritizes the digitization of unique analog content and the preservation of unique born-digital content that champions inclusive feminist activity and achievement from the 1960s to the present. We look for materials with a global context and seek to highlight underrepresented and historically marginalized groups. We also highlight feminist movements and achievements in all areas — including (but not limited to) art, business, humanities, journalism, music, politics, and science.

Generally, we are connected to our partners through records creators themselves or affiliates of records creators who recognize the value of preserving their primary source documentation and require archival assistance. We also work directly with organizations and institutions that want to commit to bringing their feminist collection items online. Sometimes, staff and board members identify projects of interest and reach out directly to potential partners. You can learn more about our partnership program on our Partnerships page.

Great! If you’ve reviewed our Partnerships page and have identified an overlap, the best way to get in touch is to fill out this form. A staff member will review your information and email you within five to seven business days. Regretfully, as we are a small team, we cannot take on all projects.

Our digital exhibitions program is rooted in our commitment to scholarship in feminist art history and other areas covered in the TFI Digital Archive. Generally, we will release a call for proposals for digital exhibitions in The Feminist Institute Newsletter or our blog. In some cases, we will identify topics we are interested in covering using TFI’s Digital Exhibitions platform and reach out directly to scholars or graduate students who specialize in that area.

Online! You can navigate to the Donate page to support our partnership work and the TFI Digital Archive. If you have trouble donating online, are interested in mailing a check, or want to discuss a foundation gift, feel free to email give@thefeministinstitute.org, and we’ll be happy to help.

Yes, absolutely! Please email give@thefeministinstitute.org, and we would be happy to help out. Using an employer’s matching gift program doubles your impact and helps us bring feminist documentation online.

We are currently working on building a volunteer and paid internship program at TFI. We’ll send any opportunities (including full-time work) out to The Feminist Institute Newsletter on Substack and our blog.

If you need to reproduce archival material for commercial, educational, or reference use, you will need to get in touch with the material’s copyright holder. If you have any questions, please email info@thefeministinstitute.org.