A Model Archive is an exhibition, workshop and micro-commission exploring the relevance of the design archive today for different uses, and users, part of the ESRC ‘Festival of Social Science’ 2020.

Spanning the 18th to the 21st centuries, the digital exhibition brings together historical and modern design archives. Centered in The Ruskin Whitehouse Collection (1830s – 1900) and Atkinson Design Associates Archive (1982 – 2015), the exhibition explores new perspectives on imagining, making, using and interpreting objects. The exhibition will be developed through the public online workshop, 'Making a Model Archive'.

On 11 November, take part in an online workshop to explore the role of the design archive in creative practice and everyday life, with writer, broadcaster and former director of The Design Museum, Deyan Sudjic OBE. Hear from artist and curator Jamie Holman, textile designer-maker Dalia James, Festival Director of the National Festival of Making, Lauren Zawadzki and Director of LICA at Lancaster University, Professor Judith Mottram, and explore artworks and objects from The Ruskin Whitehouse Collection and Atkinson Design Associates Archive. The workshop is free, and all are welcome.

The ESRC Festival of Social Science programme includes a micro-commission for an early-career artist engaged in a regional and/or at-risk craft. The details will be announced on 11 November.

A Model Archive is part of an ongoing research programme exploring the practices, politics and economics of making, culminating in an on-site exhibition at The Ruskin in 2021/2022.