Special collections in 2024
NIVAL is delighted to share news about the development of our special collections in 2024.
We recently acquired the An Post (Post Office) stamp design, print and poster collection which ranges from 1922 to 2007 and includes many unadopted designs. This was deposited by Stephen Ferguson, the Assistant Secretary and curator of An Post’s museum and archive, on behalf of An Post. We thank Stephen for his great assistance with this very generous deposit which is currently being processed for public access in 2025.
We have expanded our archive of multi-media artist Brian Connolly with a large collection of digitised and born-digital materials related to his performance art, exhibitions, solo and group projects and curatorial work between 1985 and 2023. A selection from the collection is accessible through the NIVAL online catalogue and the full collection is available in our Reading Room.
Through Brian Connolly we are also excited to have acquired the Belfast International Festival of Performance Art (BIFPA) archive of digital-born materials which contains 6,000+ photographs and 400+ videos documenting over 200 performances, in addition to festival programmes, schedules, and administrative documentation from 2010 to 2024. A selection of the materials are accessible through the NIVAL website and the full collection is available in our Reading Room.
The processing of designer Cor Klaasen’s artist archive (1926-89) has been completed and all materials are fully accessible to the public. This collection includes an inventory of work, a recollection of his years as a student and his thoughts on life and work, prototypes and original copies of book covers, sketches, posters, linocuts, prints, correspondence, photographs and artist’s tools.
Find information on visiting NIVAL and making an appointment to view any of our collections.