John Wyver writes: Ten days ago, with perhaps rather too little fanfare, the Government released a new strategic vision for archives. Commissioned from The National Archives (TNA) and launched by Baroness Twycross, Minister for Museums, Heritage and more
John Wyver writes: To Tate Modern for the richly interesting Nigerian Modernism exhibition (until 10 May) which is packed with the work of artists of whom I knew nothing. The second room is devoted to the art more
John Wyver writes: In 2007 the great Polish director Andrzej Wajda, then in his early eighties, released Katyń, a historical drama about the massacre across thrtee months in 1940 of at least 14,000 Polish more
John Wyver writes: Regulars here will know that I am one of those involved with the continuing discussion over recent policy changes about access to the BBC Written Archives Centre. The campaign to have these changes reversed more
John Wyver writes: as usual, stuff that I found in the past week that helped me get through these strange and terrible times; the header image is a detail from Jan Lievens' 1652 'Allegory of Peace', from more
John Wyver writes: Yesterday saw the publication of two important responses to the current (that is, until 11.59pm next Tuesday) public consultation on the DCMS green paper about the BBC Royal Charter review. First more
John Wyver writes: In this week's choice of links that have interested and engaged me across the past week I have resolutely set my face against explicit engagements with the hideous politics of the world, although of course they have more
In a way, you're spoiling us - and we're grateful. 'Us' being the nerdy types fascinated by television's deep archive. For so long, because of rights restrictions and a general lack of interest, television's history, beyond select monetisable shows like more
John Wyver writes: With the 1956 BBC production of Arthur Benjamin's commissioned opera Mañana currently and pleasingly on BBCiPlayer, I have written blog posts about the backstory to the project and about the production as television. This more
John Wyver writes: Late on Sunday night, BBC Four brought to the screen the 1956 BBC production of Arthur Benjamin's 75-minute opera Mañana. The transmission was 70 years to the day after its television premiere, and the recording is now more