A Living Archives for a Living Memorial:
Behind the Scenes at the Kennedy Center Archives
This webinar will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the process of establishing an institutional archives at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts ahead of its 50th anniversary season later this year. The Kennedy Center opened in 1971 as a living memorial to President Kennedy in recognition of his devotion to the advancement of the performing arts in the United States. To fulfill its mission as the nation’s cultural center, the Kennedy Center presents world-class art by the artists that define our culture today, delivers powerful arts education opportunities nationwide, and embodies the ideals of President Kennedy in all the Center’s activities provided throughout the living memorial.
The goal of the nascent Kennedy Center Archives is to ensure the organization’s creative and operational records of enduring historic value are preserved and made accessible in perpetuity. As such, this presentation will include a sneak peek at artifacts of note, discussion of challenges and opportunities inherent to establishing an institutional archives leading up to an anniversary in the midst of a pandemic, and strategies for virtual outreach with limited resources, scenarios that are especially applicable to small repositories, lone arrangers, and other under-resourced collections with great potential.
Sofía Becerra-Licha is the Lead Archivist at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, serving as the Center’s first professional archivist. In her previous role at Berklee College of Music, she similarly established the College’s archives and records management program and was active in the Society of American Archivists, New England Archivists, the Music Library Association, and the New England Music Library Association in various capacities. Sofía holds an M.S.L.S. with a concentration in Archives and Records management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an A.M. in music with a concentration in ethnomusicology from Harvard University, and a B.A. in music and Spanish from Agnes Scott College.
