Abstract
I Am Matriarch is a digital humanities initiative and AI-powered curation platform that repositions the role of marginalized voices in cultural memory. This project proposes a humanistic and feminist framework for algorithmic storytelling by making visible the structural exclusions of women—particularly from the Global South—within institutional archives and metadata systems. Operating at the intersection of digital humanities, feminist epistemology, and public pedagogy, the platform is both a tool and a pedagogical process that enables students, educators, and cultural practitioners to co-design metadata, curate interactive exhibits, and develop algorithmically-informed narratives. Rather than automating heritage, I Am Matriarch uses AI to decentralize authority, offering a model of digital storytelling grounded in consent, care, and community memory. Drawing on civic and political humanities, this paper explores how ethical metadata becomes a form of community infrastructure. Case studies from classroom labs and global exhibitions illustrate the platform’s use in reconstructing historical narratives beyond Western canons—engaging issues of labor, authorship, and algorithmic justice. Aligned with the 2026 theme Beyond Borders, this paper argues for feminist AI as a reparative humanities practice—one that bridges disciplinary, linguistic, and geopolitical divides through participatory, decentralized approaches to cultural preservation. In doing so, it offers a new direction for the humanities: one where digital infrastructures are designed not just to reflect, but to reshape, the communities they serve.
Presenters
Andrea FernandezVisiting Assistant Professor / Project Director, I Am Matriarch, History of Art and Design, The Pratt Institute, New York, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Civic, Political, and Community Studies
KEYWORDS
Feminist AI, Digital Humanities, Curation, Community Memory, Metadata Ethics
