From the margins to the center: re-signifying the “voids” of the Deocélia Vianna Archive

Abstract

This article aims to reflect about some aspects of the organization of the personal archive of Deocélia Vianna, held between 2005 and 2006. It is under the custody of the Center for Documentation and Research (CEDOC) of the National Arts Foundation (Funarte), along with the funds of her husband, Oduvaldo Vianna, and her son, Vianninha. Together, they form the Vianna Family Archive. We wish to point out, through the study of this case, how the consolidation of socially defined roles for women interferes and, to some extent, guides the work of identifying and arranging documentary sets. To this end, we will briefly present the holder and then analyze the methodology applied in the treatment of the Deocélia Vianna Archive, especially the radio works elaborated in collaboration with Oduvaldo. Finally, we will seek support in reflections dedicated to the issue of the archives of couples and in the technical processing experience of the Fernanda Montenegro-Fernando Torres Archive (also deposited in CEDOC/Funarte) to think about possibilities of approaches that, observing the rigor of archival science, represent with more ownership this particular kind of archives.