University of Victoria Anarchist Archive

History and Founding

The Anarchist Archive at the University of Victoria (UVic) is a specialist archival collection held within UVic Special Collections and University Archives, McPherson Library, Victoria, British Columbia. It was founded in 2005 by Director Allan Antliff, who joined the University of Victoria in 2003 as a Canada Research Chair in Modern and Contemporary Art (later the Jeffrey Rubinoff Legacy Chair in the Faculty of Fine Arts). Antliff is an anarchist activist, art critic, and author who has written extensively on anarchism and art since the 1980s. The Anarchist Archive has a special mandate to collect and preserve anarchist-related primary source materials, with a particular focus on the history of the anarchist movement in Canada.

Collections and Holdings

The archive holds a diverse range of formats including:

• Posters, photographs, and artwork
• Audio and video recordings
• Journals, pamphlets, zines, and books
• Oral histories and correspondence (written and digital)
• Organizational records and ephemera

Notable collection areas include the Allan Antliff Fonds (donated 2011–2015), which reflects Antliff's personal participation in anarchist and activist events across North America and Europe; collections relating to prominent figures such as British anarchist and art critic Sir Herbert Read; materials from activist Jim Campbell and Keith McHenry, founder of Food Not Bombs; and papers of Ann Hansen, author of Direct Action: Memoirs of an Urban Guerrilla. Thematic holdings cover indigenous struggles, anti-war activism, ecological militancy, prison abolition, decolonization, feminism, and queer politics. Selected items have been digitised and are accessible through the UVic Vault digital collections portal and the Anarchism Digital Research Centre.

Journalism and Media Materials

The Anarchist Archive holds extensive periodical holdings including anarchist newspapers, newsletters, and zines from Canada, the United States, and Europe. These materials document the history of radical and alternative press as vehicles for anarchist political communication and journalism.

Access and Usage

Access is by appointment. Researchers may contact UVic Special Collections directly. Physical materials are housed in the McPherson Library on the UVic campus. Digital surrogates of selected items are available through UVic Vault. Address: McPherson Library, University of Victoria, PO Box 1800 STN CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 3H5, Canada.