Visit to the Australian Jazz Museum with Professor Anne Gilliland

Today I had the pleasure of taking Professor Anne Gilliland, Director of the Archival Studies specialization in the Department of Information Studies at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), to the Australian Jazz Museum in Melbourne. 

Crumbling investments and the death of the archive: reflections on sustainability

At the "Death and Life" workshop that was held at University of Technology, Sydney today, a paper presented by Maryanne Dever included a very memorable line relevant to thinking about sustainability of archives generally, but which resonated with my presentation on the challenge of sustaining community music archives in the long-term. Dever said, the nature of investments in the archive are "destined to crumble but at least for the present endure".

Forthcoming presentation at "Death and Life", a pop-up workshop in Sydney organised by Archive Futures

Later this month I will be presenting a paper on DIY archiving at a pop-up workshop in Sydney which has been organised by Archive Futures in association with the Australian Centre for Public History. The workshop, called "Death and Life", will be held on Friday 20th November from 2.30-5pm in UTS Building 10 (Jones Street), Level 9, Room 113. Places at the workshop are limited. If you would like to attend please email: samantha.encarnacion@uts.edu.au

Crowdfunding campaign of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem

In an earlier post I asked if crowdfunding might be a pathway to financial sustainability for DIY popular music archives, museums and halls of fame. A current crowdfunding campaign by The National Jazz Museum in Harlem on the site Indiegogo suggests that some community archives are turning to crowdfunding as a source of much needed cash to keep their operations going.

Precarity of collections held in DIY Institutions: case of the American Museum of Telephony

News that the American Museum of Telephony (aka JKL Museum of Telephony) has been destroyed by a fire is a reminder of the precarity of collections held in many community heritage institutions. 

Visit to the Australian Jazz Museum (incorporating the Victorian Jazz Archive) with Dr Andrew Flinn

Today I had the pleasure of taking Dr Andrew Flinn from University College London to visit the Australian Jazz Museum (incorporating the Victorian Jazz Archive), located in Wantirna, an outer suburb of Melbourne. 

Public lecture by Andrew Flinn and Anne Gilliland

This evening I was fortunate to attend a public lecture in Melbourne with papers delivered by Dr Andrew Flinn (University College London) and Professor Anne Gilliland (UCLA).

Abstract accepted for IASPM ANZ conference, December 2015

The 2015 conference of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music Australia-New Zealand branch will be held this December at the School of Music, Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.  With the theme speaking to 'Popular Music, Stars and Stardom', the conference will be a wonderful opportunity to share with popular music studies colleagues some key findings that have emerged from the research.

Guest blog post: authorised archives --- overview of the article "Historical records, national constructions: the contemporary popular music archive"

In this post, guest blogger Lauren Istvandity provides an overview of a journal article written by Sarah Baker, Peter Doyle and Shane Homan that emerged from the ARC funded project “Popular Music and Cultural Memory” and which was recently published in the journal Popular Music and Society.

"Preserving Popular Music Heritage: Do-it-yourself, Do-it-together" reviewed for Sonograma Magazine

A short write-up about the edited collection "Preserving Popular Music Heritage: Do-it-yourself, Do-it-together", published in May 2015 by Routledge, has been reviewed in Sonograma Magazine.

Abstract accepted for the Cultural Studies Association of Australasia conference, December 2015

The 2015 conference of the Cultural Studies Association of Australasia will be held this December at the University of Melbourne. The conference theme is 'Minor Culture', so one of particular relevance to a project that is looking at archival practices occurring outside mainstream heritage institutions. The conference will be a great opportunity to share some key findings that have emerged from this research and to get feedback from the cultural studies scholarly community.

Routledge set to publish book on DIY Archives, Museums and Halls of Fame

I'm happy to be writing with confirmation that another book contract with Routledge is signed, sealed and delivered. The book, which I hope will hit the shelves by late 2016, will be called Popular Music Preservation in Community Archives, Museums and Halls of Fame: A DIY Approach to Heritage and will be in the Routledge Research in Music book series. The manuscript is set to be delivered to the publisher in May 2016.

Publication of the edited collection "Preserving Popular Music Heritage: Do-it-yourself, Do-it-together"

The edited collection "Preserving Popular Music Heritage: Do-it-yourself, Do-it-together" is now in print, having been released by the publisher, Routledge, on 18th May 2015. 

Guest blog post: sustainable archiving --- overview of the article "Sustaining popular music's material culture in community archives and museums"

In this post, guest blogger Lauren Istvandity provides an overview of a journal article written by Sarah Baker (Griffith University) and Jez Collins (Birmingham City University) that emerged from the ARC funded project “Do-it-yourself popular music archives” and which was recently published in the journal International Journal of Heritage Studies.

Guest blog post: when the trash of popular music culture becomes archival treasures --- overview of the book chapter "Saving Rubbish"

In this post, guest blogger Lauren Istvandity provides an overview of a book chapter written by Sarah Baker and Alison Huber that emerged from the ARC funded project “Popular Music and Cultural Memory” and which was recently published in the edited collection “Sites of Popular Music Heritage: Memories, Histories, Places”.

Visit to the National Film and Sound Archive

Last month I travelled to Canberra to accompany South Korean colleagues, Hyunjoon Shin and Keewoong Lee from Sungkonghoe University, on their fact finding visit to the National Film and Sound Archive.