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Introduction

‘Archives constitute the memory of nations and of societies, shape their identity, and are a cornerstone of the information society.’

International Council on Archives

Whose Theatre

The hidden histories of people from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean are just beginning to be revealed. Preserving the material that will enable more people to disseminate information about the complex, multifaceted past of this country and the place of these artists in it is vital.

Thanks to the efforts of historians, writers, practitioners and researchers, at least a few people will be aware of the theatrical achievements of Ira Aldridge, the 19th century African American Shakespearean actor who performed extensively on the London stage. The names of other artists from that period and earlier have yet to become known to a wider public. Even the record of the more recent history of the presence of African, Caribbean, Asian and Eastern Asian artists in the arts and cultural life of the Britain has not been secured.
There is now no excuse for not being aware that the history and the presence of people of African, Asian, Caribbean and East Asian descent in Britain stretches back over several centuries. In spite of that long, complex and intertwined set of histories – many of which involve arts and cultural exchange and appropriation – there is little that has been profiled on how these artists, their work and stories have impacted on and changed the nature of the arts in England today. 
From 1948 onwards, Britain has attempted to come to terms with its changing demography in a variety of ways. In the 30 years since Naseem Khan’s report onThe Arts Britain Ignores was published where the artistic landscape has changed it has been largely due to the magnitude of human effort made by arts practitioners of African, Asian, Caribbean and East Asian descent.
The need for personal stories to be told, histories to be shared, role models to be known was summed up in the Whose Theatre….? Report (2006):
We do not just need to record our past but revisit it, to show its relevance to our current situation.
 
The Recommendations: Critical dialogues and historical archives
 
• More critics in broadcast and print media with in-depth knowledge and understanding of The Sector should be nurtured by the media industry

 • Historical material must be preserved so that more people can share information about the complex past of this country and our place in it

• Effective ways should be developed for making archival material available and
easy to access
 
• Working with Sector practitioners, the Arts Council should take a leading role in helping to secure funding from other agencies and organisations
 
• The Arts Council should develop more effective ways of ensuring that lessons
from the past are learned
 
• In addition to developing specialist archival resources, agencies such as the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and regional and local museums and archives should be encouraged to work in partnership with The Sector and the Arts Council on developing
locally accessible resources

 • The whole area of archiving should be opened up and linked to education programmes, with professional development opportunities for teachers and lecturers to learn about The Sector and vice versa

• Building on current provision, more courses to encourage individuals and organisations to keep their own archives and learn the skills to do it effectively should be funded and
developed
 
• There are many experienced practitioners with documents, images and memories that could make a contribution to an archive that is dynamic and engages across
generations and cultures
 
• Working with practitioners and the Creative and Cultural Sector Skills Council, the Arts Council should examine ways of encouraging and supporting the development of critical
work related to The Sector

Sustained Theatre – Archiving work to date:

A working partnership has been established with National Archives who have been advising on archiving developments.
 
An initial mapping of black archives in England was undertaken in 2006/07, which is available on the Sustained Theatre website and through National Archives.

 An on-line archiving toolkit has been written and is available on Sustained Theatre website www.sustainedtheatre.org.uk

 The Archiving Seminar developed for regional artists, by Leon Robinson and Jo Melville, is available on Sustained Theatre website

Through the Sustained Theatre website links are available to all BME led theatre companies’ websites

With support from Arts Council Digital and Broadcasting strategy, Sustained Theatre has partnered with National Theatre Studio and Kwame Kwei Amah, to digitalise over 400 Black British produced theatre productions, the scripts of which have not been published. The work which has commenced will be available through the websites of the National Theatre and Sustained Theatre from 2011. 

by Baroness Lola Young

 

 

 

 

 

 

Access and Creation

There are two sections to this toolkit. One section focuses on Access and the other considers Creation.  They ask the questions that we think you may be asking too.  Your starting point is entirely up to you; if you are looking for particular answers and already have your questions, then you’ll know where to start, otherwise we hope that our questions provide you with a starting point.

The toolkit is wide ranging.  It includes simple information (such as placing everything in cardboard box) to highly detailed information on software and digitisation.  Please start at the point you are comfortable with.

There are a range of  substantial information as well as  some simpler question led pages for you to read available from the navigation on the left.

The Access section raises numerous questions to encourage your own reflection. The Creation section asks questions, from simple starting points to more complex enquiries.  

How To Use The Online Archive Toolkit

The information to help you to develop your archive already exists, with the majority of information accessible online.  We hope that we have made the information easier to find through publishing the toolkit.

By starting with key questions in developing an archive first, our intention is that the answers are more specific to your needs of development of an archive and at the right level.

Ultimately, some of the questions only you will know the answer too.  We cannot  tell you what your organisational – or individual – or vision is, nor can we decide whether it’s better for you to include what breadth, depth or focus  your archive should have.  What we can say is that you may not be able to archive everything, that archivists don’t just keep everything and that they do (sharp intake of breath) throw things away!  So we hope that this toolkit makes you feel that you can archive and throw items away, that you can identify what to keep and that you discover, what it is you’d like to say in your archive.  We also hope that you find the confidence to sift the information that you have without feeling that you can’t throw things away.

The two tables (taken from JISC infonet) express the process: