Between Then and Now: Performing Archives

Mya Armstrong is an Art History and Curation student at MMU and she interned for PRG this summer to assist with the organisation and curation of the recent conference that PRG hosted at Royal Exchange Theatre on 23 and 24 June. Below is a write up from Mya about her experience working on this conference.

Mya’s reflections

The Performance Research Group conference, Between Then and Now: Performing
Archives, was one to remember. Both days were packed full of many interesting
performances, discussions and exhibitions and it was a great to be a part of it.
I am currently an Art History and Curation student at Manchester Metropolitan University and
have a keen interest in archives, so as the events intern, I was very excited to gain this
experience. As an individual that doesn’t have much knowledge or experience within theatre
and performance, I was very intrigued to learn more about how archives and performance
can come together through elements of storytelling.

Lauren Nicole Whitter’s discussion surrounding the living archive was one of my favourites
from the day. I particularly enjoyed the setup, allowing everyone to interact with the people
around them and feel seen by one another. I felt very connected to Lauren’s ideas
surrounding the living archive, particularly through her heritage as I too come from a
Jamaican family background. Her talks around passing things down through generations,
such as music, dance and recipes felt very nostalgic for me and allowed me to think more
about how I want to preserve elements of my heritage through archives.
Graham Clayon-Chance’s presentation was another that I felt very interested by, as it
explored themes of memory and archive, through the life of another individual – Nigel
Charnock. It made me think, again, how we can continue passing down this memory of
those connected to us, through different creative elements. I raised questions in my mind
about how we as individuals, can ensure that parts of us can still remain and be preserved,
even after we have passed and how precious it is for the one’s that continue to share our
stories with others.

The Royal Exchange archive tour was a great experience, although I would’ve loved that
have more time in the space to explore the archives and dig a little deeper. It gave me a
small insight into the space and reminded me how important this archive space was. There
was so much history to learn and show many stories, not just surrounding the shows, but the
building itself. It will be interesting to see how this archives space grows and how they can
use this to continue the theatre’s legacy

The Performance Research Group conference, Between Then and Now: Performing
Archives, was one to remember. Both days were packed full of many interesting
performances, discussions and exhibitions and it was a great to be a part of it.
I am currently an Art History and Curation student at Manchester Metropolitan University and
have a keen interest in archives, so as the events intern, I was very excited to gain this
experience. As an individual that doesn’t have much knowledge or experience within theatre
and performance, I was very intrigued to learn more about how archives and performance
can come together through elements of storytelling.
Lauren Nicole Whitter’s discussion surrounding the living archive was one of my favourites
from the day. I particularly enjoyed the setup, allowing everyone to interact with the people
around them and feel seen by one another. I felt very connected to Lauren’s ideas
surrounding the living archive, particularly through her heritage as I too come from a
Jamaican family background. Her talks around passing things down through generations,
such as music, dance and recipes felt very nostalgic for me and allowed me to think more
about how I want to preserve elements of my heritage through archives.

Graham Clayon-Chance’s presentation was another that I felt very interested by, as it
explored themes of memory and archive, through the life of another individual – Nigel
Charnock. It made me think, again, how we can continue passing down this memory of
those connected to us, through different creative elements. I raised questions in my mind
about how we as individuals, can ensure that parts of us can still remain and be preserved,
even after we have passed and how precious it is for the one’s that continue to share our
stories with others.
The Royal Exchange archive tour was a great experience, although I would’ve loved that
have more time in the space to explore the archives and dig a little deeper. It gave me a
small insight into the space and reminded me how important this archive space was. There
was so much history to learn and show many stories, not just surrounding the shows, but the
building itself. It will be interesting to see how this archives space grows and how they can
use this to continue the theatre’s legacy.