ABSTRACT
From 2007 to 2013, the Visual History Archive (VHA), in collaboration with the University of Cape Town Libraries, undertook the collection, digitization, and presentation of unique audiovisual materials related to the history of the South African liberation struggle. This effort culminated in the Visual History Explorer (VHX), an innovative online platform enabling users to navigate disparate archival collections through a dynamic, map-based interface that facilitated layered readings of historical events and, by linking archival objects to their places of origin and relevance, enacted a form of “virtual repatriation.” This chapter reflects on the platform's design, ambitions, and eventual demise, analyzing the infrastructural, financial, and institutional challenges that resulted in its discontinuation. Revisiting the project in the wake of the 2021 fire that severely damaged the University of Cape Town's Jagger Library, it argues for more collaborative and sustainable approaches to digital preservation—especially for independent archival initiatives operating outside national institutional frameworks in contexts such as South Africa.
