Sustainable Stories: Capturing an Age of Change in Community Archives

The recently formed Community Archives and Heritage Group Scotland are holding their first networking event, bringing people together from Scotland and beyond to celebrate the richness and diversity of community archives and heritage. The conference provides the opportunity for volunteers, community groups and professionals to learn from one another, share their experience and create future working partnerships.

We have intentionally organised our first event to take place at The Point Community Hub, Govanhill, in Glasgow on Wednesday 10 November 2021, during COP26 (Conference of the Parties 26) and want to take this opportunity to look at community archives and heritage projects and learn how we can engage with critical questions around the environment and sustainability. Community archives and heritage groups have a unique connection with their environment, linking people and places. They are keen to find solutions while also striving to meet international ambitions on climate change and caring for their communities. During the Covid 19 crisis, the resilience of communities has been on full display.

See the full CAHG Programme here. 

To register for the event, visit the Eventbrite here.

This networking event will inform and inspire us to lead on the challenges of adapting to thrive in this age of change.  

Follow all the latest CAHG Scotland news on Twitter @CArchivesScot 

Speakers


Keynote Speaker: Dr Simon Naylor, University of Glasgow.

Extreme weather histories and unusual archives on the Outer Hebrides. 10:05 – 10:35

Simon is a Professor of Historical Geography at the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences at The University of Glasgow. Simon will be presenting on extreme weather histories and unusual archives on the Outer Hebrides by examining logbooks for schools across the Outer Hebrides from 1872 until 1945.

 


Presentation: Deirdre Molloy and Romy Galloway, South Glasgow Heritage and Environment Trust.

Digital Dilemmas: Creating a Sustainable & Accessible Community Archive. 11:00 – 11:20

Deirdre is the Vice Chair of SGHET, coordinating public communications and helping shape SGHET’S strategy. Romy sits on the SGHET board, and works across heritage documentation, engagement, and the archive. Their presentation, ‘Digital Dilemmas: Creating a Sustainable & Accessible Community Archive’ will share their experiences of designing a digital archive and exploring wider challenges facing a climate-conscious heritage sector


Presentation: Thomas Krebs and Catherine Duckworth, Kinloch Castle Friends Association.

Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rum Topotheque Kinloch Castle Friends Association (KCFA) . 11:20 – 11:40

Thomas Krebs is the archivist at Grandhotel Giessbach, Switzerland and member of the KCFA. Catherine Duckworth is the Hon Sec at Kinloch Castle Friends Association. Their presentation will discuss the Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rum Topotheque which is a collaborative community portal to keep history and memories alive.


Presentation – Bill Sadler, The Grantown Society.

From Archives to Adventures. 11:40 – 12:00

Bill has chaired The Grantown Society for over 40 years and leads their work on promoting the unique heritage of Grantown and Strathspey and making it more accessible for the benefit of residents, visitors and the environment itself. His presentation will feature three projects to help cope with and counter the global warming emergency drawing on their archive material. 


Presentation – Nicola McHendry, Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust. 

Archives and Art: An instrument for social innovation. 12:00 – 12:10

Nicola is the Heritage Development and Community Engagement Manager at Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust. The presentation will dicuss opening archive collections to artists for collaborative work as an an instrument for social innovation.

 


Presentation: Dr Niamh Moore, Sociology dept. University of Edinburgh.

Activism as heritage: Creating a digital archive of ecofeminist stories with Omeka. 13:50-14:10

Niamh is an interdisciplinary feminist researcher at the University of Edinburgh, interested in drawing on histories and practices of community archiving to approach archiving and sharing research data. She has creat an open, digital archive of research data, Clayoquot Lives, oral history interviews with ecofeminist activists, using Omeka, a platform for publishing digital collections, and am working (with Nikki Dunne, Mary Hanlon, Martina Karels) on a book on ‘DIY Academic Archiving’


Workshop: Ingrid Shearer and Hanneke Booij, Glasgow Building Preservation Trust.

The Living River. 13:50 – 14:25

Ingrid is the Heritage Engagement Officer at Glasgow Building Preservation Trust. Hanneke is a PhD student at University of Stirling in collaboration with GBPT. In this workshop, participants will explore how their collections and heritage sites relate to place and landscape, particularly rivers. 


Presentation – Hannah Wood and Martine Robertson, School of Scottish studies archives and the European Ethnological Research Centre.

What a Voice: Digital archives are current and up to date, we can go in again again and continue to be creative. 14:10 – 14:30

Hannah and Martine are volunteer ethnologists supported by professional staff from the School of Scottish studies archives and the European Ethnological Research Centre. Their presentation will focus on their project What a Voice. The project is destined in time to become a full theatre piece and is designed to be a sustainable model within a particular community. 


Presentation: Jenny Wartnaby, University of Strathclyde, University of Glasgow and Glasgow Women’s Library.

Archives and Activism. 14:30 – 14:50

Jenny is currently completing a collaborative PhD with the University of Strathclyde, University of Glasgow and Glasgow Women’s Library. She is archiving and creating a history of the feminist movement to end men’s violence against women in Scotland, looking at the links between theory and practice. Her presentation will disucss how we can use archives to inform community activism and how we can better do this in the context of increasing online engagement.


Workshop: Rae McKinlay, Story Teller

The Stories We Tell Ourselves. 14:30 – 15:05 

Rae is a MA graduate of University College Cork and storyteller. The workshop will be an exploration into stories that interlace society, our communities, and the ones we tell ourselves.  An interactive workshop using storytelling and drama. 


Presentation: Joey Simons, Catherine Spencer and Kirsten Lloyd.

Archiving Housing Struggles . 14:50 – 15:10

Joey is the of Project Lead  of Glasgow Housing Struggle Archive. Catherine is a lecturer at the School of Art History at University of St Andrews. Kirsten is a curator and lecturer at the School of Art History at University of Edinburgh. The presentation will examine how tenants in Scotland have united to fight for sustainable, environmentally sound homes, and imagined new housing futures  

 


Presentation: Janos Lang, Ando Glaso

Scotland’s Roma Communities. 15:20 – 15:40 

Janos is the director of Ando Glaso, a Glasgow organisation which encourages greater understanding and participation in the cultural heritage of the Roma people in Scotland. The presentation will discuss how Ando Glaso will help Roma people create digital content through video/audio recordings for online exhibitions and archiving and connect with the wider public through live performances and workshops at their final cultural festival.


 

Programme

Time  Activity  
9.30  Registration tea and coffee 
10.00  Welcome  
10.05  Keynote Address 

Extreme weather histories and unusual archives on the Outer Hebrides. 

Simon Naylor, Professor of Historical Geography 

School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow  

AHRC/ UK Climate Resilience funded project CLANDAGE: Building Climate Resilience through Community, Landscapes and Cultural Heritage  

10.35  Morning break (tea and coffee)   
  SESSION ONE  
11.00   Digital Dilemmas: Creating a Sustainable & Accessible Community Archive 

Deirdre Molloy and Romy Galloway, South Glasgow Heritage & Environment Trust 

11.20  Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rum Topotheque Kinloch Castle Friends Association (KCFA)  

Thomas Krebs & Catherine Duckworth Secretary of KCFA 

11.40  From Archives to Adventures 

Featuring three projects at Grantown Societyto help cope with and counter the global warming emergency using research from their archive. 

Bill Sadler, Chair of The Grantown Society 

12.00  Archives and Art: An instrument for social innovation 

Nicola McHendry 

Heritage Development and Community Engagement Manager 

Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust 

12.20  Q&A  

Speakers from Session 1  

12.30   Networking Lunch 

12.30-13.35                                                                                                           Poster Session 13.00 – 13.35 

13.35  One Minute Mayhem   
13.45  SESSION 2 – Chair TBC 
13.50   Activism as heritage: Creating a digital archive of ecofeminist stories with Omeka  

Creating a digital archive of oral histories of ecofeminist activists, (using Omeka free platform for sharing digital collections).  

Dr Niamh Moore, Sociology dept. University of Edinburgh 

WORKSHOP 1 – 35 minutes  

 

The Living River 

In this workshop, participants will explore how their collections and heritage sites relate to place and landscape, particularly rivers.  

 

Ingrid Shearer, Heritage Engagement Officer, Glasgow Building Preservation Trust 

Hanneke Booij, PhD student at University of Stirling in collaboration with GBPT 

14.10  What a Voice: Digital archives are current and up to date, we can go in again & again and continue to be creative 

 

Our project What a Voice, is destined in time to become a full theatre piece. The project is designed to be a sustainable model within a particular community. 

 

Hannah Wood and Martine Robertson Volunteer ethnologists supported by professional staff from the School of Scottish studies archives and the European Ethnological Research Centre. 

  The Living River workshop continued 

 

 

14.30  Archives and Activism 

How can we use archives to inform community activism and how can we better do this in the context of increasing online engagement? 

Jenny Wartnaby
Independent researcher and activist

WORKSHOP 2 – 35 minutes 

 

The Stories We Tell Ourselves.  

An exploration into stories that interlace society, our communities, and the ones we tell ourselves.  

An interactive workshop using storytelling and drama. 

 

Rae McKinlay MA graduate of University College Cork and storyteller 

14.50  Archiving Housing Struggles  

How have tenants in Scotland united to fight for sustainable, environmentally sound homes, and imagined new housing futures 

Presented by Glasgow Housing Struggle Archive and Life Support: Forms of Care in Art and Activism.  

Joey Simons, Project Lead Glasgow Housing Struggle Archive  

Catherine Spencer, Lecturer, School of Art History, University of St Andrews 

Kirsten Lloyd, Curator and Lecturer, School of Art History, University of Edinburgh 

15.10  Comfort break  
15.20  Scotland’s Roma Communities 

Scotland’s Roma communities have a rich cultural heritage which until now has been mostly invisible and untapped. With support from Ando Glaso, Roma people will create digital content through video/audio recordings for online exhibitions and archiving and connect with the wider public through live performances and workshops at the final cultural festival. 

Janos Lang, Director of Ando Glaso 

15.40   SESSION 2 Q&A 
15.55  Closing Remarks  
16.00  Close