The LIFT Living Archive has been developed as a resource for anyone interested in the development of recent international theatre and performance.

Stage 1 of the project (November 2005 – May 2006) was a research and development phase funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Foundation for Sport and the Arts. LIFT surveyed its archive materials, engaged potential archive users through market research and piloted innovative approaches to using the archive as a creative tool for learning and participation.

In stage 2 (June 2007 – March 2009), also funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, LIFT fully appraised and catalogued the physical archive and selected 1000 items to be digitised and made available online. In August 2008 the archive was deposited with Special Collections at Goldsmiths, University of London Library.

Learning and participation

From October 2008,  the MA Applied Drama: Theatre in Educational, Community and Social Contexts programme at Goldsmiths have been collaborating with LIFT on an innnovative archive research project.  By working jointly with a local primary and secondary school, as well as two local community groups, MA Applied Drama students are exploring how the LIFT archive can enable creative learning and participation processes.

The outcomes of this project will be written up as detailed case studies and will be available to view on the Learning and Participation pages of this website from Autumn 2009.

Further information

If you have any questions or comments about the LIFT Living Archive project please contact archive@liftfest.org.uk.

The LIFT Living Archive is held in Special Collections at the Library, Goldsmiths, University of London. A full online catalogue of the archive is available at www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/archive. Call 020 7717 2295 or email special.collections@gold.ac.uk to make an appointment to view materials from the archive.

To find out more about the first 25 years of LIFT read ‘The Turning World: Stories from the London International Festival of Theatre’ by LIFT’s founding directors Rose de Wend Fenton and Lucy Neal (published by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, ISBN 1903080037).

To find out more about LIFT’s current activity go to www.liftfestival.com