News
Rambert Archive receives boost from Heritage Lottery Fund
Rambert has been awarded nearly £360,000 of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to conserve, catalogue and make publicly available the Company’s exceptional historical collections. HLF funding will enable the fit-out of a dedicated archive space in the Company’s new purpose-built home on the South Bank which will open in 2013. The archive contains audio and film collections, archive documents and more than 300 costumes spanning over 100 years, including pieces by acclaimed designers Roland Mouret, John Galliano, Stephen Jones and Katherine Hamnett, as well as original pieces belonging to Marie Rambert. Conservation work will be carried out on the items at most risk, around 40% of the collection. Over 600 boxes of documents and 1800 pieces of film and audio footage will also be preserved to professional standards. The VHS collection, which is significantly at risk, will be digitised with many items to be made available online. The project will also see an extensive education programme, with particular focus on schools, MA Fashion students, young theatre members, volunteers and the wider community. This will include:-
· Opportunities for fashion students to gain invaluable practical skills in cataloguing costume collections with the chance to curate a public exhibition.
· A digitisation archivist will train volunteers to help with the digitisation of VHS film collections.
· At least 15 schools will participate in workshops on themes such as significant choreographers, the emergence of contemporary dance and the Company’s founder, Marie Rambert.
· Groups of young people from Lambeth City Learning Centre will look at archive footage to develop documentary films on music, design and dance.
· Young people from the Unicorn Theatre will create a performance about the life of Marie Rambert inspired by the Company’s archives.
· Rambert will deliver a series of talks and events for adults and community groups.
