Since we set up the project webpage in May 2013, we have made lots of progress, the highlights of which I’d like to bring to your attention.
Following my first blog post in May, there have been twenty one further posts, from all corners of the project.
We also launched our Animating the Archives series of short films, with eight films currently published online. Take a look at Rebecca Sinker’s blog post, introducing the series.
The journey so far
The four archive staff who have been working for almost two years, have largely completed the task of cataloguing every page of every letter, notebook, diary or postcard, as well as numerous other archive items. A Data Checker is currently checking and double-checking the 52,000 records, prior to going online later in October! In the course of their work, staff have been blogging about the interesting items they have come across. See for instance, Liane McIver’s blog on Paul Nash’s wartime letters.
Letter from Kenneth Armitage to Joan Moore, addressed Corsham Court 1951 Ink on paper TGA 9920/2/157 © The Kenneth Armitage Foundation
Photographing the archives
Meanwhile the photography studio was set up at the end of 2013, and three photographers have been busy photographing the archive material using a book scanner, a copy stand and a flatbed scanner. So far 14,500 pieces have been captured, and one of the Photography Assistants, Oli Cowling, has blogged about some of the material he has been capturing, from Nigel Henderson, Josef Herman, Thomas Cooper Gotch and Henry Scott Tuke. The Photography Project Manager, Dave Clarke, also blogged about the some of the challenges of this part of the project.
Nigel HendersonPhotograph showing two unidentified girls in the street 1949–56Black and white negativeTGA 201011/3/1/56/7© Estate of Nigel Henderson
Conservation
Before the material is even sent to Photography, it is assessed by staff in Paper Conservation, and treated, where necessary to ensure the material is not at risk when being handled in the studio. There are two blog posts about this work, one from Sophie Connor, and another about the fascinating challenges around treating Graham Sutherland’s sketchbooks, by Fiona McLees.
Digitalising the archives
So once the material is catalogued, conserved and photographed, it is ingested into Tate’s systems. One of the unique things about this project is that we are integrating the archive collection with the art collection, meaning the material will be exposed to the large online audience that regularly use Art & artists Alex Pilcher writes a fascinating post about why we decided to take this approach and her colleagues in Digital write about the technical challenges this has posed. Before the material can go online, however, our Project’s Rights Officer has to clear it all for use, which she explains in her blog.
As well as bringing archive objects and collection objects together, the Digital team have been busy building new tools and participatory features on the site, which you should be able to test out very soon!
Our volunteers
In the meantime, both the Outreach Programme and our Volunteers programme are moving on apace. Sally Davies talks about the project in Wales in her post while the Archive Intern in Wales has blogged about her experiences of the project.
Volunteer activity has been intense. One of our Preservation Volunteers, Germana Gerelli, describes her work in a blog and a film about the volunteers work has been made. Watch this space for blogs by the new Archive Explorers who are taking visitors around the new Archive Gallery spaces, and introducing them to the project.
Watch this space
That’s all for now, but watch this space carefully for more exciting developments, as we prepare to take this all live!!