The successful three-year project ‘The Story of British
Jazz’ has significantly improved public access to the National Jazz Archive’s
rich and diverse holdings and reinforced its position as the principal national
resource for jazz heritage in
the UK.
The
key achievements have been:
·
storing and conserving more than 40,000
archive items (journals, photos, posters and programmes)
·
cataloguing more than 4300 books
·
cataloguing more than 600 journals to
series level along with 36 personal and seven photo collections
·
scanning and digitising numerous
journals, photos, posters and programmes for direct access via the redesigned
website, which includes a timeline of British jazz, over 360 interviews, and
cross-curricular learning resources
·
organising more than 30 talks, open
days, exhibitions, concerts, community events and family activities
·
training volunteers in storage,
preservation and cataloguing skills.
The principal funding for the project was a grant of
£311,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, coupled with a match-funding
contribution from the Archive of approximately £12,000, including donations, a
non-cash contribution from Essex County Council of £15,527, and volunteer time
contribution of £6850.
Lesley Walker, Project Monitor for the Heritage Lottery
Fund, said: “Over the past three years I have watched the National Jazz Archive
develop into an active and lively organisation with properly catalogued and
managed collections, reaching out to a much wider audience including their
local communities. There is now a greater awareness within and beyond the jazz
community of the Archive and its activities and ‘The Story of British Jazz’
makes the collection accessible to people everywhere.”
Project
manager Angela Davies said: “The Story of British Jazz project team
successfully delivered a dynamic programme of activity, which has significantly
raised the profile of the Archive, created an infrastructure for the sustained
management and preservation of its unique collection and encouraged greater
interaction with the Archive. This could not have been achieved without the
enthusiastic support from the trustees, volunteers and partner organisations.”
Partnerships
and collaborations were arranged throughout the project with nearly 30
organisations, including the British Music Experience, Chelmsford Museum
Service, Essex Heritage Education Group, Essex on Tour, Essex Youth Jazz
Orchestra, Group for Education in Museums, Guildhall Music Library, Horniman
Museum, Jazz FM, Loughton Festival, Loughton Library, Loughton Youth Project,
Love Loughton, Restore Community Church, and West Dean College.
The project team were: Angela Davies
(project manager), Fiona Cormack (project archivist till 2013),
Jo Blyghton (project archivist from 2013), and Sam Fieldhouse (learning and
outreach officer).
To support and manage the project, trustees with expertise
in archives, conservation, finance, marketing, legal, and audience development
were recruited. A series of seven fundraising concerts was organised in 2014,
featuring the Gresty-White Ragtimers, Kenny Ball Jazzmen led by Keith Ball,
Paul Jones, Liane Carroll, John Altman, Digby Fairweather and Val Wiseman.
The work of the Archive is continuing, and significant
collections of material have been donated during the course of the project,
including hundreds of photos of musicians taken by Denis Williams, personal
papers from Ottilie Patterson, Don Lusher, Lew Stone and Nat Gonella.
Further details of the Archive are available atwww.nationaljazzarchive.org.uk, 020 8502 4701or from
enquiries@nationaljazzarchive.org.uk
No comments :
Post a Comment