Film and Media Archive
None of the work undertaken by the Studiolab course would have been possible without the ongoing and invaluable efforts of the libraries at Washington University. Librarians are instrumental in cultivating and organizing a range of archival materials and resources, including the Hampton and Willis collections that Studiolab worked with throughout the year. Through their curatorial efforts, exhibitions, and scholarship, librarians play crucial roles in expanding archival access, informing academic and public awareness of a variety of materials and subjects, and generating possibilities for further innovative research. As a result, academic research, much like the Studiolab class itself, is far from unilateral and individual. Rather, it is a collaboration between the efforts of librarians and other academic scholars.
The Washington University libraries acquired the Henry Hampton Collection in 2001, with additional materials acquired in 2002 and 2003. Over a decade later, the libraries acquired the Jack Willis Collection in 2014. Since then, Tyler Bequette, Alison Carrick, Nadia Ghasedi, Jim Hone, Barry Kelley, Christopher Pepus, David Rowntree, Irene Taylor, Andy Uhrich, and Brian Woodman have worked tirelessly to ensure that these materials are available for further study.
Thanks to their efforts, Studiolab and PEP students were able to gain hands-on experience working with archival materials that had not yet received much scholarly attention. In particular, Studiolab students had the opportunity to engage with material from Eyes School, the preparatory classes and lectures undertaken by the Blackside production team. Because the audio from Eyes School recordings is not yet fully transcribed and polished, students participated in transcription and cleaning efforts while considering research possibilities in the process.
Henry Hampton
Jack WIllis
