Join us as we examine past, present and future risk to UK archives and discuss preservation strategies for the 21st century with this year’s conference ‘Safeguarding Future History: Meeting the Challenge of Records at Risk’.
The conference will take place on Tuesday, November 4 · 10am – 4:30pm GMT at The Gallery, 77 Cowcross Street London EC1M 6EL.
The British Records Association has had records preservation at its core since its establishment in 1932, and this year our annual conference will focus on Records at Risk. What does risk look like for archives in the 21st century? What practical measures can we take to ensure the continued preservation of records in a context of financial pressure and fast-moving technological change? How can funders and our wider communities help?
Our programme includes insights from academics, funders, and representatives from The National Archives and British Council. There will be practical advice to take away from recent projects to save significant collections of records at risk, and an opportunity for informal conversation with funders over tea and coffee.
PROGRAMME:
9.45 Registration and morning refreshments
10.10 Welcome from the BRA
10.15 Victoria Northwood, BRA Vice-Chair: ‘A Great National Task’: the origins of records preservation
10.25 Georgina Brewis, Professor of Social History, University College London: Why records matter to historians and how we can help preserve collections
11.00 Philip Gale, Head of the Collections and Cultural Property Team, Archives Sector Leadership, The National Archives: Pandemic Lessons: Evolving Anatomy and Mitigation of Archival Risks
Panel Session: Finding Solutions for Records at Risk (chaired by Philip Gale)
11.45 Richard Wiltshire, Trustee, Business Archives Council and Gillian Staples, Archives & Collections Lead, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster: The Crisis Management Team in Action: Saving the Debenhams Archives for the Nation
12.10 Tim Brunsden, Independent Filmmaker, on behalf of the Re-Dock artist collective: Saving Homotopia’s video archive
12.30 Dr Zoe Hendon, Design Historian, Curator and Lecturer, previously Head of Collections at the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture and Jackie Bishop, Project Archivist (Penguin Random House) University of Reading: What happens when the archive closes? Rehoming the Charles Hasler collection
13.00 Lunch and British Records Association AGM
14.15 Stephanie Grant, Director, Cultural Protection Fund, The British Council: International Perspective: the work of the Cultural Protection Fund
Panel Session: Meet the Funders (chaired by Victoria Northwood)
14.50 James Hodgson, Head of Archive Sector Funding, The National Archives
15.05 Nell Hoare, Secretary, Friends of the Nations’ Libraries and The National Manuscripts Conservation Trust
15.25 Leanne Manfredi, V&A National Programmes Lead (Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund)
15.50 Afternoon refreshments and opportunity to network
16.30 Conference closes
Conference fees include full catering for the day
For accessibility requirements please email: secretary@britishrecordsassociation.org.uk
We look forward to seeing you in November!