The Story Behind Vita Archives
Hi there, I’m Bella.
I am an archivist. I come alongside professional artists, bringing solutions to organize and preserve their careers, serving creators in the Philly region and beyond. Driven to document artist’s stories, I have fallen in love with archiving and how it reveals the significance of a specific artist’s vision. The gift of archiving is it gives a clear look into an artist’s life and work–their legacy. Archiving is ultimately about storytelling: helping artists get their careers in order so the greater narrative in their artistic journey has a chance to emerge and be preserved for the future.
Drawn to Archiving
During college, I had the honor of being asked by my painting professor to archive his career. I learned how to self-manage his collections for over two years, including through the Covid-19 pandemic. I taught myself organizational strategies and studied what it means to “archive” in real time. I found what works and what doesn’t. Experience is often the best teacher, and that experience ended up turning into so much more…
Near the end of this archiving job, one of my long-time dreams came true: I went to Italy. For four months, I was free to study in spaces such as the Uffizi, Vatican, Civic Museum of Siena, St. Peter’s. As I did, questions arose in my mind. How did these famous works come to these walls? How were the artists discovered? How was their work protected? What living artists–today’s Vermeers and Rembrants and Da Vincis–could be hanging on these walls in a couple hundred years? What is it that prevents an artist from being discovered?
The seed of Vita Archives was planted as I began to grasp the concept of remembrance is, not solely in Italian culture, but in the history of art itself. We gaze at the David or the Primavera or up at the Sistine Chapel and we stare or gasp or weep, because a ceiling painted a hundred years ago covers us in something eternal. Whether it be expressed through music, dance, poetry, or paint, there is something eternal in every artist’s handiwork.
Upon returning from Italy, I came to realize that there is a demand for archival skills within the art community–not just in museums and galleries, but on an individual level. The artists of today may be considered the masters of the future, but the reality is most professional artists have not had the time nor the ability to simultaneously create their work as well as organize and protect it. Fame does not determine significance. However, an artist has a lesser chance of being remembered well because their legacy is left dusty, untitled, shoved away in studio corners or in disjointed computer files. Especially in the now-digital world, the dilemma for artists today is centered around how to ensure their work will be remembered.
I started Vita Archives to help artists who need their career to be ordered once and for all. What I offer is a freelance, personalized service that guarantees professional results. My archiving service is all about the artist–you–because I believe your work is valuable and worthy of investment.
Let’s ensure your legacy is remembered.
Photo courtesy of Savannah Landis.
About Me
I have a B.A. in Fine Studio Art and English from Gordon College just outside Boston, and have been archiving for clients nearly three years.
As an artist myself, I began drawing when I was five, coloring all over the paper tablecloths at restaurants–ever since then, I haven’t been able to put down a pencil or brush. For over ten years I’ve been working in gouache, an opaque watercolor that dries matte, and am currently exploring metalpoint. Being still and observant of this natural world fuels my spirit; it is what I was made for.
As Italy greatly nourished the idea behind Vita Archives, the Italian word for “life” inspires it’s name. Going to Arezzo, where the Italian film “La Vita e Bella” was filmed, was one of the cities I cherished visiting the most.
I’m one of those people who believe reading is a high joy. Some of my re-reads are Macbeth, Crime and Punishment, The Nightingale, Lord of the Rings, the Little Prince, and anything at all relating to Greek mythology.
I’m currently living outside of Philadelphia with my husband.
