ArenaPAL
ArenaPAL is a UK company, based in London, which specialises in the licensing of performing arts images, both in the UK and throughout the world. Its collection falls under the main categories of opera, theatre, classical and contemporary music, classical and contemporary dance, as well as educational imagery covering all categories.
It manages a library of 10 million images with over 900,000 currently viewable online. The library also holds thousands of unscanned prints, negatives and transparencies. These are digitised as part of its on-site archival scanning project. In 2007, it was declared the best international image library in the world.
History
ArenaPAL was founded in 1997 as the first fully digitised performing arts archive. Unlike most specialist photographic agencies, it has worked with a wide range of contributors from its inception. The company continues to expand its extensive archive as well as taking in submissions of contemporary performance, including theatre, ballet, dance and opera productions, classical music, rock, pop and jazz events.ArenaPAL is a member of the British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies, which has declared it: "the best international performing arts photographic resource for all images users representing a unique collection from around the world", in 2007.
Collections
In addition to the original Performing Arts Library founded by Clive Barda, the following archives and collections are represented by ArenaPAL:- Boosey and Hawkes Collection,
- Collection Christophel French film archive,
- Glyndebourne Collection, including:
- *Guy Gravett Archive,
- *Mike Hoban Archive,
- Le Pictorium,
- Noel Gay Archive,
- Roger Viollet,
- Royal Academy of Dance Collection,
- Royal Ballet School Special Collections,
- Royal College of Music Collections,
- Royal Opera House Collections, including:
- * Donald Southern Archive,
- * Edwin O. Sachs Archive,
- * Frank Sharman Archive,
- * Lady de Grey Archive,
- * Roger Wood Archive,
- The Stanislavski Centre theatre photo archive,
- Ullstein Bild,
- University of Bristol Theatre Collections, including:
- *Bertram Park and Yvonne Gregory Glass Plate Collection,
- *Bristol Old Vic Archive,
- *John Vickers Archive,
- *London Old Vic Archive,
- *Mander and Mitchenson Collection,
- *Richard Southern Collection,
- *Stephen Moreton-Prichard Collection,