The Archive

My placement during my masters has been at the archive at Stirling University

 

It has been a great experience, and I am so lucky to have made connections with so many brilliant people while I was here. Even the space is good. a light airy room with views and greenery!! It is a fair distance to travel but has really been worth it.....and the story does not stop here at the end of my placement.........

This is Karl Magee who runs the archive at Stirling University library
The building was officially opened  last August and was designed to house the archive and special collections in a very prominent spot near the entrance to the main university library. It has been a pleasure to work here as an intern, and I am delighted that once that time is officially over I will be visiting on a regular basis. My own reserch into Norman McLaren has been dependant on this archive for many of the personal details it has unearthed. But I will also be involved with the building for a special event this year.

The Macrobert Arts Centre next door will be 40 years old and there is to be a series of events to mark this.
I have met with Liam Sinclair, the director, and we are discussing a few ideas to span 2011 to 2014.
This is a really exciting development. Liam is also very keen to assist me to run a dance creative lab where I will begin choreographic ideas for my masters film. The idea is that these will also lead into a performance for 2014. There is also to be an exhibition in September of archive material. I have met the curator of that and I have already been assisting with ideas for this which are in part a response to my placement and to my research into McLaren.

At a time when I have been reading about how Norman made connections in his early years in New York, it feels very appropriate to be making so many connections myself! I feel I will enough material for at least two major projects...and am so glad I am part time!!
An exhibition, a dance, a garden, a film........Now I have to start looking for ways to fund them!!

One small piece of good news is that I have been awarded a small amount towards the ongoing work at the archive. I have begun to catalogue Norman's letters home as I research them. This will take a lot longer than the placement so I applied to the Association of Art Historians voluntary work fund. The fund will support me in my archive work... not part of the placement and so not part of my masters....I am really pleased.
Going into the future, some really great pieces of Norman's work have recently arrived from Canada and I may be one of the first here to see them... that would be a treat!!

There is still sooo much to do!