In celebration of Community Archives and Heritage Group Scotland’s 5th anniversary, we are inviting five groups to take part in a special online exhibition series hosted on the SCA website.
What’s Happening?
To mark this milestone and highlight that last year the UK formally joined the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, we will be showcasing five community groups or organisations through a digital exhibition that celebrate Scotland’s living heritage through Scotland’s community archives. The exhibition will show how important communities are in safeguarding intangible heritage.
Theme: Intangible Culture
We’re especially interested in material that reflects intangible cultural heritage – things that are passed on through experience, memory, and community practice, rather than stored in formal institutions. Think: traditions, languages, music, food, skills, celebrations, local know-how, and collective identity.
Showcasing your collection
Each exhibition will feature a curated selection of five items from a community archive or heritage group. These can include:
- Oral histories
- Audio/video recordings
- Photographs or digital images
- Archival documents or ephemera that relate to intangible culture
How to Take Part
If your group would like to be featured in one of the exhibitions, please complete a submission form.
We will ask you for:
- Your organisation’s name and location
- A short description of your archive or collection (max 200 words)
- An outline of what you would like to share (just some brief descriptions of items from your collection and why they are important)
- A contact name and email address
Complete a submission form.
Key Dates
- Deadline to express interest: Sunday 28 September 2025
- Selected organisations notified: end of September
- Materials collected: September – October 2025
- Exhibitions go live: November 2025
Why take part?
- A professionally presented digital showcase hosted on the Scottish Council on Archives website
- Feature promotion through our newsletter, social media, and media outreach
- A chance to share your community’s stories with a wider public audience
- Support from us with curating and preparing your exhibition
Questions?
If you’re unsure whether your material fits the theme, or if you’d like to chat about the process before applying, please don’t hesitate to contact us at: m.trimble@scottisharchives.org.uk
We can’t wait to celebrate with you and to share the intangible heritage that lives in Scotland’s archives.