ARCE-AIIS, Gurgaon

The Archives and Research Center for Ethnomusicology (ARCE) houses extensive collections of recordings of Indian music and oral traditions. These have all been meticulously documented, and are complemented by a superb library that includes books, journals, and dissertations relevant to the field of ethnomusicology in general and with a particular focus on India. The archives is a repository of voluntarily deposited collections from scholars and collectors of all nationalities.

With state of the art technical facilities and an archive maintained to international standards, ARCE serves as the model for comparable archives all over the world. A particular focus has been the repatriation of collections held in archives abroad for access to Indian scholars and institutions.

ARCE follows an active program of acquisition, cataloging, preservation and dissemination. There is an audio visual laboratory equipped for making preservation copies of incoming material as well as for making working copies and research copies for users. A listening room, equipped with high quality audio and video equipment, is dedicated to the use of scholars listening and viewing archival material.

ARCE also holds seminars, workshops, and training programs regularly as well as special programs such as the well-received Remembered Rhythms festival on the Diaspora and the Music of India, supported by a generous grant from the Ford Foundation. ARCE also is involved in research projects such as the ongoing one entitled Archives and Community Partnership which involves field work in Rajasthan and Goa, also funded by the Ford Foundation.