The Archive

Avon Hudson's archive (Nuclear Veteran) with State Library of South Australia mentors and creative personnel/

Avon Hudson’s archive (Nuclear Veteran) with State Library of South Australia mentors and creative personnel/ Photo Jessie Boylan

Fundamental to our creative works and to long term communication is the need to help organize and preserve extensive documentation held by those who have witnessed atomic tests and those who have campaigned for recognition and reconciliation. These are resources distinct from official records of atomic tests. The material held in communities provides unique personal perspectives in the form of annotated reports, medical case notes, personal maps, photographs, artifacts and documents, many of them one-off originals.

Using community and cultural development approaches, and with mentoring from staff of the State Library of South Australia (SLSA) we will curate material initially as a way to inform and support the script development process involved in the Balaklava performance project. The library will advise on the preservation and communication of evidence across the deep-nuclear future.

Key Partners: Nuclear Veterans and families, State Library of South Australia (SLSA), ANVA, Murdoch University, Atomic Photographers Guild

Key Artists/Personnel: SLSA Mentors, Avon Hudson (Adviser),
Community archivists TBA, and Ellise Barkley (Program Manager).

Extract from the diary of John Walden, a British nuclear veteran, 1957/ Photo Jessie Boylan

Extract from the diary of John Walden, a British nuclear veteran, 1957/ Photo Jessie Boylan

Balaklava Archive process, photo by Jessie Boylan

Balaklava Archive process, photo by Jessie Boylan

Avon Hudson's archive, Photo by Jessie Boylan

Avon Hudson’s archive, Photo by Jessie Boylan