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In this talk writer and researcher Beth Williamson negotiates the joys and frustrations of archival research. Taking the artist and educator William Johnstone (1897-1981) as a case study the talk assembles fragments of documents, correspondence, photographs and manuscripts, seeking out the roots of Basic Design as it was conceived of in Britain, as well as the exchange of ideas that helped to shape that conception.

Artist and lecturer Suzi Tibbetts reflects on her experience conducting archival research, at the National Arts Education Archive in relation to Hudson’s teaching and, more broadly, approaches to teaching relating to Basic Design. 

Donald Smith, Director of Chelsea SPACE, discusses the use of archives and Special Collections to create experimental curatorial projects whilst tacitly examining an art school’s history and pedagogy.

Curator, oral historian and researcher Liz Bruchet considers some of the complex custodial responsibilities generated by the digitisation and crowdsourcing activities of the Slade Archive project, a joint initiative of the Slade School of Fine Art and UCL Centre for Digital Humanities.

Dr Jo Melvin, Reader in Research in Archives and Special Collections, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL, is interested in the modifications of established canons, failures and blemishes unearthed in archival investigations. In this talk she refers to Barry Flanagan’s archive to demonstrate how the archive’s materiality lends itself to visual display that in turn casts new ways of thinking about events surrounding exhibitions.

This presentation explores the approach and activities used to maximise accessibility and engagement with archive materials both in Tate and beyond, made possible through the Transforming Tate Britain: Archives & Access, Heritage Lottery Funded project.