Thinking about starting your own archive?
Learn how archiving and archives have changed since the advent of the digital age and key areas to consider when starting your own archive.
Course Format
Over six weeks, this practical course explores what it means to archive collections today – working with physical and/or digital material. Course leader Kathryn Tollervey starts by exploring the need for an archive and who it is for. Then we look at guidelines on cataloguing and metadata, as well as the processes of digitisation and preservation for both digital and physical material. We discuss what digital solutions are best for different types of collections. Throughout the course we focus on access and legacy of the archive.
Taking place weekly on Zoom, sessions include a blend of lectures, group discussions and presentations. Participants are provided with lecture slides and a list of resources for further study.
Who is this for?
Open to all, especially photographers who are interested in starting the process of archiving their material, whether of personal value or historical public interest.
Schedule
Week One | Introduction on Mon 16 Sep
An overview of the course and an exploration of the history and changing forms of archives. Guest speaker: David A. Bailey
Week Two | Legacy on Mon 23 Sep
Why is there a need for an archive and who it is for? Any copyright implications and future possible contexts in how collections could be used.
Week Three | Access on Mon 30 Sep
How to make archives available to different audiences and how to promote your archive. Introducing the use of open access and community involvement to increase reach and build stronger stories within archives. Guest speaker: Andrea Holzherr
Weeek Four | Digitisation and Born Digital on Mon 7 Oct
Introducing the debate on whether to digitise collections, in full or part. Practical guidelines in finding a suitable affordable platform.
Week Five | Cataloguing and Meta Data on Mon 14 Oct
An introduction and practical guidelines. Guest speaker: Nathalie Herschdorfer
Week Six | Storage and Conclusions on Mon 21 Oct
Introduction to different solutions & considerations for both digital and physical material. Final Q&A session on next steps with your archive. Guest speaker: Luce Lebart
Biographies
David A. Bailey
David A. Bailey MBE is a photographer, writer, curator, lecturer and cultural facilitator who lives and works in London. David’s practice is focused on the issues that relate to black representations in the areas of photography, performance and artists’ film. He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of ICF, the International Curators Forum, an organisation who offers a programme of commissions, exhibitions, projects, publications and events that respond to the material conditions and cultural contexts impacting creative practitioners today. David is leading on The Photographers' Gallery Ten.8 project partnership.
Nathalie Herschdorfer
Nathalie Herschdorfer is a curator and art historian specializing in the history of photography. She is the Director of the museum Photo Elysée, the photography museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. She is an active voice in contemporary photography and has been invited to organize numerous exhibitions outside Switzerland. She teaches the history of photography at the Lausanne University of Art and Design (ECAL). She is co-curator of Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage.
Andrea Holzherr
Andrea Holzherr is a cultural director, publicist and curator. She has worked as the Global Cultural Director and Curator for Magnum Photos, Paris since 2003. She is responsible for promoting the Magnum Archive through active exhibition work in collaboration with international museums and cultural institutions. Previous to this, she worked at the Maison Européene de la Photographie in Paris as Assistant Curator to the Director. She is co-curator, with Anne-Marie Beckmann and Karen McQuaid of Ernest Cole: House of Bondage.
Luce Lebart
Luce Lebart is a French photography historian, an exhibition curator and a researcher at the Archive of Modern Conflict. Previously she was director of the French Photography Society Collection, Library and Archive in Paris. Lebart has curated internationally a wide range of books and exhibitions. Her project are mainly based on overlooked photo archives both private and institutional. Among them is Mold is beautiful (POURSUITE 2015), Lady Liberty (Seuil 2016), Gold and Silver (RVB BOOKS-CPI, 2017), Inventions (CNRS-RVB BOOKS 2019), Cloud Album, (AMC-Polygon), Prendre le Soleil ( Hangar Y), Will Write Soon, (AMC-Gwinzegal, 2024), Sky Album (AMC-Fotografia Europea, 2024).
Kathryn Tollervey
Kathryn Tollervey is the Archivist at The Photographers’ Gallery. She has twenty years’ experience working in photographic archives such as Foster + Partners (Norman Foster’s architectural studio) photographic & special collections archive, the Victorian high street photographer Edward Reeves’ Archive and the archives of celebrated American-photographer Lee Miller.
Bursaries
Bursary places (50% of the full course fee) for this course have now been allocated.
A limited number of partial bursaries covering 50% of full course fees will be awarded on a first come, first served basis. Please apply on or after 12 June.
Applicants who wish to be considered for a partial bursary should submit a statement (max. 500 words) to projects@tpg.org.uk, outlining how Starting an Archive would contribute to their professional development. Successful applicants will be notified within a week of submission (on or after 12 June).
We actively encourage applications from groups who are currently under-represented in the cultural sector in the UK. This includes people who identify as D/deaf, disabled* and neurodivergent; those with caring responsibilities; candidates from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse backgrounds; and arts and culture professionals, prioritising independent artists and freelancers.
*The Equality Act 2010 defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Sharing that you are disabled will not be used in any way in judging the quality of your application.
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Details on how to access this event will be confirmed upon registration. Please check your junk/spam folder if you haven't received an email from TPG staff confirming your place.
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