Most documents related to performance  provide a 'special case' in archival practice, because of the way in which they are created, and what they portray.  Depending on their sources, permissions may have to be researched for the owner of the document, the archive that holds the document, the creator of the work of art, each performer in an image, and so on.  It is entirely possible to do 'due diligence,' but we all need advice, from time to time.  We are preparing sample permissions documents that we use when researching, copying, preserving, and pubishing imagery of documents, and will post them here in July (and update them regularly afterwards).  

In the meantime, we include below a general documentary permissions form that we use in our work.  We also include a link to our general archival policy, which is based on lengthy consultation with everyone in Gatherings.  You may also be interested in the information available to read related to our Oral History research, which is related closely to the ethics of archival research.  

We encourage you to send us questions and concerns about archives--including your own.  We will help in any way we can.

Here is the link to our general archival policy. 

See below for a sample letter of consent we use:

Gatherings: Archival & Oral Histories of Performance Document Release Form 

Please provide a new form for each individual from whom you are obtaining permissions. You can generate multiple forms and send them via email to these individuals by using the copy and paste functions in MS Word.  Note that for most materials, permissions may be necessary from the individual owner of the document, from the original creator of the document, and from each subject recorded by or in that document, all depending on the provenance.  Advice from the Gatherings Executive, appropriate Task Force, and the PI should be sought if there are any questions or complications.  Be sure to include a clear statement from the creator or owner or subject of the document—either a signature or an email pasted into the form below. 

NAME OF CREATOR/OWNER OF COPYRIGHT: 

ADDRESS: 

DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT(S) [Note:  This may include photographs of productions, personnel or designs, creative artistic works related to productions, aural or visual recordings of artistic works, individuals, or physical objects related to the subject of the interview.]

CREATOR URL: 

The Creator (that is, the photographer, recorder, or other artist or manufacturer) hereby grants to Gatherings (the Publisher) a worldwide, nonexclusive permission to publish/post copies of any material described above as an integral part of the work of Gatherings, in print, electronic or any other form and in any media now known or hereafter devised, subject to the conditions below: 

1. The customary credit will be given to the Creator. 

2. The Publisher will not, without a further granting of permission, publish or distribute the Image(s) except as an integral part of the publication/posting in which the Article appears. . 

3. The Creator’s name will appear in any caption for reproduced items. If you would like the Creator’s website to be featured with the caption, please provide it in the appropriate box above. 

4. This permission covers only material in which the Creator holds copyright (i.e., it does not cover any material with an independent copyright). 

5. This permission covers the use of documentary material in any promotional content for Gatherings, including print and online supplementary materials. The Creator will always be given customary credit. 

Please email a copy the above section to each Creator and ask her/him to send an email consenting to the terms explained above. This email permission should be pasted in the box provided below, and it MUST show: 1) the email address from which this permission was sent; and 2) the date of the email correspondence.