The course is a terrific introduction to the world of archiving. This six-week programme offers valuable insights into what an archive is, why it matters, and how to create one.
- Participant from 2025's Starting an Archive course
Thinking about starting your own archive?
Get to know the key areas to consider when setting up an archive. See examples of a range of archives and learn how archives have changed since the advent of the digital age.
Course Format
Over six weeks, this practical course explores what it means to archive material 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 the processes of digitisation and preservation for both digital and physical material.
- This is followed by a discussion on the digital solutions best for different types of collections as well as guidelines on cataloguing and metadata.
- Throughout the course we focus on access and legacy of the archive.
Taking place weekly on Zoom, sessions include a blend of lectures and guest speaker presentations. Participants are provided with lecture slides and a list of resources for further study.
Who is this for?
Open to all, especially those who have inherited/been given a collection of materials and/or photographers who are interested in starting the process of archiving their material, whether of personal value or historical public interest.
Ticketing
Please note: Our workshops and courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please book within five days of the start-date to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation and to ensure you receive any additional workshop or course information well in advance. Registration will close one day prior to the start date of the session(s).
By booking for this event you agree to our Terms & Conditions.
Course Schedule
Week One: Introduction on Tue 15 Sep, 18.30–20.00 BST
An overview of the course and an exploration of the history and changing forms of archives. Guest Speaker: Luçjan Bedeni (National Museum of Photography “Marubi", Albania )
Week Two: Legacy on Tue 22 Sep, 18.30–20.00 BST
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 Tue 29 Sep, 18.30–20.00 BST
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.
Week Four: Physical Preservation and Storage on Tue 6 Oct, 18.30–20.00 BST
Introduction to different solutions & considerations for both digital and physical material. Guest Speaker: Martin Barnes (Victoria and Albert Museum, London)
Week Five: Digitisation and Born Digital on Tue 13 Oct, 18.30–20.00 BST
Introducing the debate on whether to digitise collections, in full or part. Practical guidelines in finding a suitable affordable platform and storing of digital assets. Guest Speaker: Martin Barnes (Victoria and Albert Museum, London)
Week Six: Cataloguing and Meta Data on Tue 20 Oct, 18.30–20.00 BST
An introduction and practical guidelines. Guest Speaker: Stef Dickers (Bishopsgate Institute)
Biographies
Guest Speaker: Lucjan Bedeni
Luçjan Bedeni is an artist, art historian, and curator whose practice unfolds at the intersection of photographic archives, critical historiography, and contemporary exhibition-making. Since 2012, he has served as director of the National Museum of Photography “Marubi” in Shkodër, where he has led the transformation of the former phototheque into a dynamic institution dedicated to the critical reinterpretation of photographic heritage.
Bedeni has curated and commissioned over 40 exhibitions that explore the relationship between image, power, and historical narrative. In 2021, Bedeni obtained a PhD in the History of Albanian Art with research on “Pietro Marubbi and the Birth of the First Photography Studio in Albania”. Bedeni’s work proposes the archive as an open and evolving structure—one that is continuously reshaped through curatorial interpretation, artistic intervention, and public engagement.
Guest Speaker: Michelle Williams
Archive of Modern Conflict. Coming soon
Guest Speaker: Martin Barnes
Victoria and Albert Museum. Coming soon...
Guest Speaker: Stef Dickers
Stef Dickers is the Special Collections and Archives Manager at Bishopsgate Institute and has been responsible for the development of the Institute's collections, including an ever growing collection of around 500,000 photographic images in various renowned collections documenting feminist, LGBTQ+ and activist history in Britain. He qualified as an archivist in 2001 and started at the Institute in 2005. Previous to this, Stef worked in the archives of the London School of Economics and Senate House Library.
Course Leader: Kathryn Tollervey
Kathryn Tollervey is Archivist at The Photographers’ Gallery. She has twenty years’ experience working in photographic archives such as Foster + Partners (Norman Foster’s architectural studio, London) photographic & special collections archive, the Victorian high street photographer Edward Reeves’ Archive (Lewes) and the archives of celebrated American-photographer Lee Miller (Chiddingly, East Sussex).
Bursaries
A number of partial bursaries covering 50 per cent of course fees will be awarded on a first come basis. 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. Applications open from June 2026; successful applicants will be notified within a week of submission.
We actively encourage applications from groups who are currently underrepresented 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 desiring career development, prioritising independent artists, freelancers and those made redundant/at risk of redundancy since 2020.
*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.