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University of the Arts London

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2019)
'Libraries, Archives and Special Collections' special issue

Case Studies

'Reading Collections': the African-Caribbean, Asian and African Art in Britain Archive reading group

Published 2019-06-21

  • Gustavo Grandal Montero
    • ,
  • Rahul Patel

Gustavo Grandal Montero
Chelsea College of Arts, UAL

Rahul Patel
University of the Arts London

Abstract

This case study discusses the innovative ‘Reading Collections’ reading group, which uses primary source materials (ephemera) from the African-Caribbean, Asian and African Art in Britain Archive, housed at Chelsea College of Arts Library, UAL. In addition to supporting discussion around the significance of primary documentation in the research process and the curation of collections and archives in relation to the representation of potentially marginalised groups, historical narratives and decolonisation, the group was designed to be non-hierarchical and interdisciplinary, encouraging the participation of people from a wide range of backgrounds including students from all levels as well as teaching and other staff.

Keywords

Reading groups, archives and special collections, African-Caribbean art, Asian art, African art, British art, Black Art, decolonisation.

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Author Biography

Gustavo Grandal Montero

Academic Support Librarian

Rahul Patel

Academic Support Lecturer, Academic Support

References

  1. Appleton, L., Grandal Montero, G. and Jones, A. (2017) ‘Creative approaches to information literacy for creative arts students’, Communications in Information Literacy, 11(1), pp.147–167. https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2017.11.1.39.
  2. Chelsea College of Arts (2019) Chelsea Collections and Archives. Available at: http://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/library-services/collections-and-archives/chelsea (Accessed: 23 February 2019).
  3. Chelsea College of Arts (2015) Re-Recordings: The African-Caribbean, Asian and African Art in Britain Archive. Curated by Liz Ward, Chelsea Space, London, 24 June – 17 July. Available at: http://www.chelseaspace.org/archive/re-recordings-info.html (Accessed: 23 February 2019).
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  6. Grandal Montero, G., Patel, R. and Sarkar, J. (2018) ‘Exploring archives and artworks: the African-Caribbean, Asian, African Art in Britain Archive and other collections at Chelsea College of Arts Library’ UAL Postgraduate Community, 3 September. Available at: http://blogs.arts.ac.uk/pgcommunity/2018/09/03/exploring-archives-and-artworks-the-african-caribbean-asian-african-art-in-britain-archive-and-other-collections-at-chelsea-college-of-arts-library/ (Accessed: 23 February 2019).
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