Over the decades, Arizona State University has been the setting for a great breadth of artistic talent and diverse cultural perspectives. From providing a stage for student talent in athletics, fine arts and more, to hosting nationally known performing artists, to the traditional rites of a university, there has been no shortage of notable events. But there hasn’t been an easy way for the curious to browse them. A new collection of digitized promotional posters from Arizona State University Library’s University Archives collection aims to make this history more accessible.
This collection also puts a spotlight on the great variety of performing arts events that have taken place at ASU over the years. Posters highlighting Dance and Opera offerings are strongly represented in this collection, reflecting the diverse programs put on by ASU dance companies, and offered in historic ASU sites like Gammage Auditorium.
With issues of equity and inclusion dominating headlines in recent months, it is also an interesting time to revisit these events, which display events promoting cultural awareness and equity.
This collection and many others are digitized by ASU Library’s Reformatting department. This department creates digital surrogates for diverse archival holdings. Creating these electronic versions allows the library to publicize the wealth of historically significant material the library maintains. In the future this material and many other collections the department works with are planned to be displayed on the new ASU Digital Repository, PRISM. For more information on the library’s digitization efforts, please contact Timothy Provenzano (timothy.provenzano@asu.edu).
Timothy Provenzano, Project Manager