Inspiring culture. Creative archives: Łódź-London

The aim of the project implemented by our Scientific Documentation Department is the international promotion of Poland's cultural heritage. The means to achieve this goal will be the presentation of rich archival materials of Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź. They constitute part of a unique cultural heritage and are related to the history of the Polish avant-garde, and also document its relations with the international environment. As part of the project, we will also show the processes and methods used on a daily basis by the Scientific Documentation Department and the Library managed by this department. We will also engage in the discourse on modern methods of making archives available and share good practices in the field of archiving and digitizing artifacts accompanying the creation of art.

The strategic partner of the "Creative Archives: Łódź - London" project is The British Library, a library with one of the largest collections in the world, a pioneer in the area of ​​digitization of documents and their access. We plan to participate in a professional training in modern archiving processes, the "International Library Leaders Programme", during which we will learn good practices in the use of collections to create platforms for communication with the audience, design and manage digitization processes, store and maintain collections in both physical and digital dimensions, cataloging and using new technologies in working with them.

The project also implements the thematic path "Institutions of the future". The Internet medium, as a new language that is constantly developing, actively influences conceptual work with collected documents, encourages the development of new ways of combining ideas and developing creative formats for disseminating knowledge, the depositary of which is the Museum.

As part of the project activities, we will learn about the experiences of leading institutions related to this and prepare a comprehensive narrative campaign presenting our resources and the methods of working with archives developed by the Museum. The project will be a journey through the Museum's collections.

We also invited the Institute of Polish Culture in London to cooperate. We are planning a one-day expert meeting there to exchange experiences and good practices in working with archival material. We will also visit institutions recommended by the Institute of Polish Culture in order to initiate new contacts. We are counting on exchanging observations on exhibiting and making available archives. The Institute will also contribute to broader promotion of the visit abroad in available communication channels.

The project participants are employees of the Scientific Documentation Department of Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź.

Completion time: October 9, 2019 - December 31, 2019

Grant amount: PLN 156,725

Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage under the "Inspiring Culture" Program