British Records Association

Category: News

  • Book your ticket to the BRA Conference 2024

    Curtain Up! The Practice of Archiving Performance

    Tuesday October 29th 2024 in London.

    The British Records Association’s Annual Conference 2024 is being held in partnership with the Association of Performing Arts Collections (APAC), a network for all museums, libraries and archives holding performance arts materials in the UK and Ireland.

    This is an opportunity to share the work of the performing arts archive world with the wider sector and consider the transferability of particular methods and experiences of performing arts information professionals.

    The conference theme is active archiving, with, through, and for practitioners. We will explore how archives can be developed in collaboration with the record creators, the practitioners themselves, to create more representative collections of performance for use by practitioners, academics, the general public, and beyond. We will also address current concerns regarding long term preservation of performance archives and the interventions available to save endangered works and collections.

    Speaker participants from the following institutions are confirmed:

    • Royal Shakespeare Company
    • Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham
    • Kingston School of Art, Kingston University London
    • The National Archives
    • Digital Curation Lab, University of Salford
    • National Theatre and Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
    • Victoria and Albert Museum
    • University of Galway
    • University of Falmouth and University of Exeter Penryn Campus
    • University of Bristol Theatre Collection

    Please monitor the BRA website and this page for the full programme which will be published soon. Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite here.

    *Conference fees include full catering for the day*

    For any accessibility requirements please email: secretary@britishrecordsassociation.org.uk

    We look forward to seeing you in October!

     

    APAC logo
    APAC logo
    BRA logo

  • BRITISH RECORDS ASSOCIATION: JANETTE HARLEY PRIZE 2024

    The British Records Association is pleased to announce that entry to the 2024 Janette Harley Prize is now open. The prize, awarded in memory of Janette Harley (1951-2015), is intended to generate interest in archives, and raise awareness of research and achievements in the world of archives. Applications should be received by the BRA Secretary secretary(at)britishrecordsassociation.org.uk not later than 31 July 2024. The winning entry will be announced in November. We hope to be able to hold the Harley Prizegiving on the same evening as the BRA’s annual Maurice Bond Memorial Lecture, early in 2025.

    For Terms and Conditions and eligibility, please see the Janette Harley Prize page.

  • Call for papers: Curtain Up! The Practice of Archiving Performance

    • Date:  Tuesday 29 October 2024
    • Location:  The Gallery, 77 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ
    • Abstracts submission deadline: 5pm on 3rd May 2024
    This year the British Records Association (BRA) annual conference will be held in partnership with the Association of Performing Arts Collections (APAC), which is a network for all museums, libraries and archives holding performance arts materials in the UK and Ireland. This is an opportunity to share the work of the performing arts archive world with the wider sector and consider the transferability of particular methods and experiences of performing arts information professionals.
    The theme of this year’s conference will be active archiving, with, through, and for practitioners. We aim to explore how archives can be developed in collaboration with the record creators, the practitioners themselves, to create more representative collections of performance for use by practitioners, academics, the general public, and beyond. Mirroring this collaboration is the use of these collections by practitioners to advocate for the archives, create new work, or share the collections with new audiences.
    This can cover many areas of work:
    • collaborations with practitioners in creating and cataloguing collections
    • challenges and opportunities of practitioners being involved in the archiving of their work
    • how participatory archiving has been used with the performing arts
    • practitioners engaging with and interpreting performing arts archives to widen audience engagement
    • practitioners creating their own archives
    Abstracts of papers (20 minutes) or lightning talks as part of a panel (5 minutes) should be a maximum of 200 words and should be accompanied by a biography of all participants of up to 150 words. These should be submitted as Word files to the BRA Hon Secretary, Amanda Engineer.
    Enquiries regarding the call for papers should be addressed to APAC
    The British Records Association is a charity which aims to promote the preservation, understanding, accessibility and study of our recorded heritage for the public benefit. It is open to anyone interested in records and archives whether local historians, academics, professional archivists, or custodians and owners of collections, or simply those who are curious about the record of our past.
    APAC is the membership organisation for professionals, specialists, and other individuals working with or interested in performing arts heritage in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Our activity programme for members and non-members aims to inspire the widest possible participation in the enrichment of the UK’s performing arts heritage.

     

    APAC logo
    APAC logo