Last week the Archives and Special Collections Centre organised two events for UAL Student Activities week.
Both events proved popular. They were fully booked and well attended.
Walking with Kubrick: A London Odyssey
The first was a walking tour. This was originally developed by two UAL students, Pedro Rothstein and Danai Batskou in 2019, as part of the Design Museum’s programme of events to accompany the travelling Kubrick exhibition.
The walk drew on original research from The Stanley Kubrick Archive. It explored the role of London in Kubrick’s film-making process.
Pedro Rothstein led the tour. From the Southbank Centre, participants took in many sites across central London. They were encouraged to observe, take photos and learn about Kubrick’s life and film-making process. It was a sunny day and participants appeared to enjoy the walk. They were also encouraged to engage further with the archive.
A Strangelove love-in
Back at LCC we held a screening of Kubrick’s 1964 film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
The film is a brilliant black comedy, starring Peter Sellars. Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern and Peter George developed the screenplay from Peter George’s original (serious) novel, Red Alert. The result was a biting satire on the Cold War, the nuclear arms race and the absurdity of escalations in political violence. It is only too easy to argue that the film continues to resonate in our uncertain contemporary political context.
After the screening we presented a selection of material from the Stanley Kubrick Archive relating to the making of the film. The archive material provided a behind-the-scenes look at the film-making process. It focused on the development, production and publicity that made the film possible.
The event was open only for University of the Arts London students. They had to book ahead, due to the limited capacity for the event. The attendees came from a wide range of courses including Design, Illustration, Fashion and Journalism. They came from across UAL, including London College of Communication, Camberwell and Central St Martins.
Students had the opportunity to handle archival material up close, and for some it was their first time seeing the film. They asked questions and shared their excitement with the archivists. They also got to find out more about accessing the over 45 archives and collections cared for at the ASCC.
It was a great opportunity for the archive team to test out the logistics around film screenings and archive-handling sessions. Students expressed enthusiasm to attend similar events in the future.
Questions?
If you have any questions about our collections or activites, please contact us at archive-enquiries@arts.ac.uk.