JISC RSC YH Exchange News

Previously unpublished recordings of Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) talks from the 1980s have gone online at the JISC-funded Archival Sound Recordings website of the British Library at http://sounds.bl.uk

Featuring talks and debates with top cultural, artistic and political figures of the day, this latest addition the archive offers a chance to explore in detail cultural directions in the UK from 1981 to 1994.

Alistair Dunning, JISC’s digitisation programme manager, said: “The rich intellectual heritage embedded in the spoken word is an often neglected source for research and learning. JISC is delighted to support the British Library to release the vivid ideas, resonant discussions and crucial issues that make the ICA Talks such a powerful library of ideas.”

The talks comprise over 880 recordings, over 1000 hours of audio, on subjects including art, literature, performance, fashion, film, music, philosophy, psychology, biology, feminism, AIDS and politics.

Kristian Jensen, Head of British Collections at the British Library, said: “Anyone interested in cultural, artistic and political change in contemporary Britain will want to listen to this collection of talks from the ICA. The British Library’s Sound Archive is in many ways like a Tardis – this new collection transports us back 20 years through cyberspace to the meatiest debates of the 80s – at the mere click of a button.”

The recordings feature a kaleidoscopic range of leading cultural figures debating the social and artistic currents of the 1980s, such as:

• Salman Rushdie and Tariq Ali discuss Rushdie’s novel ‘Shame’ and swap improbable anecdotes from Pakistan.
• Ken Livingstone, former Mayor of London and head of the Greater London Council (GLC), describes the GLC’s radical approach of involving women’s groups, ethnic minorities and gay, lesbian and bisexual groups in the governance of London in the 1980s.
• Socio-biologist Richard Dawkins defends the more controversial aspects of sociobiology which attempts to explain human behaviour in terms of genetic make-up (1984).

Visit the archive at http://sounds.bl.uk