Collection MS-2-805 - Stephen Archibald's student protest photographs

Photograph of Michel Guite's car being ticketed and broken into in preparation for towing from Da... Photograph of students playing cards outside the Student Union Building, blocking a tow truck dri... Photograph of marchers assembling in Halifax's Grand Parade prior to an anti-Vietnam War demonstr... Two images of children holding protest signs in Halifax's Grand Parade at an anti-Vietnam War dem... Photograph of veteran and anti-protester being interviewed during a march held for Halifax's Inte... Photograph of veterans and anti-protesters standing in front of the War Memorial in Halifax's Gra... Photograph of two police officers conversing in Halifax's Grand Parade while, off-camera, marcher... Photograph of pro-war demonstrators in Halifax's Grand Parade while, off-camera, marchers assembl... Photograph of Will Offley and other anti-Vietnam War demonstrators assembling for a protest march... Photograph of a pro-Vietnam War demonstrator mouthing off at Rocky Jones in Victoria Park at the ... Photograph of unidentified men standing near active pro-war demonstrators at an anti-Vietnam war ... Photograph of pro-war demonstrators contained by police officers in Victoria Park at the end of a... Photograph of demonstrators on Hollis Street during an anti-Vietnam War protest march Photograph of Larry Katz, Graduate Student Council President, addressing a crowd in front of the ... Photograph of marchers on Hollis Street during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration, overseen by a m... Photograph of an unidentified man holding a protest sign and a small child crossing Barrington St... Photograph of an unidentified pro-war demonstrator gesturing out of the passenger seat of a car d... Photograph of protesters listening to speakers in Victoria Park during an anti-Vietnam War march Photograph of protesters listening to speakers in Victoria Park during an anti-Vietnam War march Photograph of two police officers standing behind a group of protesters listening to speakers at ... Photograph of Will Offley pointing to his "Support the N.L.F." (National Liberation Front) sign d... Photograph of Peter McGuigan during an anti-Vietnam War march near Victoria Park Photograph of Millie, the basset hound, looking out from a background of protesters during an ant... Photograph of Hilary Kitz in Victoria Park during an anti-Vietnam War protest Photograph of Hilary Kitz and John Kitz sitting at the base of the Robert Burns statue in Victori... Photograph of a Mount Saint Vincent student at the Halifax airport protesting the landing of a Un... Photograph of a Maoist student, protesting alone in the foyer of the Dalhousie Student Union Buil... Photograph of the newly formed Campus Police forcibly removing a member of a Maoist group trying ... Photograph of a march to mark the National Day of Demonstration Photograph of a rally to mark the National Day of Demonstration Photograph of a rally to mark the National Day of Demonstration Photograph of Dalhousie political science professor and leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic ... Photograph of Dalhousie sociology student, Chris Thurrott, with his wife and child, at an anti-Vi...

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Stephen Archibald's student protest photographs

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  • Graphic material

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Reference code

MS-2-805

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Physical description

34 photographs : b&w

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Name of creator

Biographical history

Stephen Archibald was a Dalhousie University student in the 1960s, graduating with a BA in 1968 and working towards an MA for two further years. In 1966 he joined a student group that took photographs for the Dalhousie Gazette and Pharos, the Dalhousie University yearbook, working out of a run-down studio and darkroom in the old Student Union building. In 1970-1971 he was enrolled in design courses at NSCAD, then housed on Coburg Road, and he made regular visits to the Photo Department, which had moved to a well-equipped space in the new Student Union Building. The SUB also had a gallery space, which he booked for a show in the Spring of 1971, having decided to mount an exhibition of photographs of protest marches and demonstrations taken by the Photo Department over the past years.

Custodial history

Records were donated to the Dalhousie University Archives by Stephen Archibald in accession (2018-016) in March 2018.

Scope and content

Collection comprises 34 mounted photographs of political demonstrations and protest marches organized by Dalhousie students between 1967 and 1970. The photographs were taken by students for the Dalhousie Gazette and/or Pharos yearbook and were compiled and printed by Stephen Archibald for a show in the Student Union Building in Spring 1971. The scope and content notes for the images are drawn from the background information provided by Stephen Archibald, who writes: "The pictures were taken by young men in their late teens and early 20s who had no formal training, but who were drawn to photography because it provided a visual, aesthetic outlet that was missing from their academic university life. We also had no particular political beliefs or insight. The editors at the Gazette were left-leaning during this period so it is not surprising that we were assigned to photograph demonstrations that were organized, in large part or totally, by Dal radicals."

The photographs were printed and mounted by Stephen Archibald on F5 high-contrast paper to exaggerate their graphic nature, and printed full frame, which gives them a black border. As he explains in his notes, this was part of the contemporary aesthetic, ensuring that the viewer was aware that the images were composed in the frame, with nothing edited or cropped out. Most of the photographs are mounted, and the dimensions provided in the physical descriptions do not include the mount board.

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Restrictions on access

There are no access restrictions on these materials. All materials are open for research.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Materials do not circulate and must be used in the Archives and Special Collections Reading Room. Materials may be under copyright. Contact departmental staff for guidance on reproduction.

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Further accruals are not expected.

General note

Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Stephen Archibald's student protest photographs, MS-2-805, Box [box number], Folder [folder number], Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

General note

Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Stephen Archibald's student protest photographs, MS-2-805, Box [box number], Folder [folder number], Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

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