February 26, 2023
The process of archiving can be explained as a collection of historical records or materials in any medium. Whilst archives can be collected by official bodies such as governments or professional organisations, they can also be collected on a more personal level and on an individual basis, be it by families, friends and community groups. Like co-production, recognised archives cannot exist without a group effort.
I recently had the opportunity to embark on a two-week placement at Black Cultural Archives that prompted me to think about the potential for co-production within ‘The Arts’ and particularly within cultural archives. The Black Cultural Archives is a home of Black British History. Its mission is ‘to collect, preserve and celebrate the histories of people of African and Caribbean descent in the UK and to inspire and give strength to individuals, communities, and society’. Whilst on a placement there, I spent some time reflecting on whether co-production is an approach already being incorporated within cultural archival spaces and if not, how could this potentially be done?
In a chapter titled ‘The First Galleries I Knew Were Black Homes’ (Know Your Place., 2017), Abondance Matanda speaks of how history is ingrained in cultures and how archives, both in the home and in galleries, should be accessible and not out of reach. Whilst reading this, I began to think about how, although there has been a perceptible change in the ability to access institutional archives over the past decade or so, perhaps, there is more work to be done.
Often, when I find myself speaking to friends about the ability to browse through special collections of old newspapers, magazines, postcards, event programmes and other forms of ephemera in archives, it is often received with surprise because the knowledge that we, as members of the public actually have access to this, is often not known.
After my placement I was also left thinking about how there is a certain intimacy within archives that can only really be captured when working with people with whom an archival piece is close to. For example, a sister who contributes her sibling’s paintings and sculptures to an archive. A child who contributes their parent’s musical compositions. A relative who offers their grandmothers articles in a radical left-wing newspaper. There is room and a great opportunity to work with archives in collaboration with people who contribute items belonging to their loved ones. These collaborations can take place in many forms i.e., through a co-produced exhibition, workshop, talk, or an extra-curricular activity with a local school. Getting to see elements of these approaches being used at the Black Cultural Archives made me realise not only that it is possible but also that this co-productive approach is a great way to foster creativity and the ability to learn from other individuals/groups of people.
Through embracing these measures, we can bring even more life to memories, more life to stories and more life to the various ephemera (collectable items that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity) collected by families and passed down from generation to generation. Perhaps, through archival spaces working in partnership with families and community organisations in a more collaborative way, the history and legacy underpinning certain archives can be preserved in a more fitting way that can also have more impact on those viewing them.
Places like the independently run Black Cultural Archives are doing this through their various programmes. For example, their ‘Black British Workshop Series’ and ‘Seeing Ourselves: Representation in Heritage and Arts’ series, as well as their ‘Transforming Legacies’ exhibition series which involved a collaboration with Poetic Unity who hosted sessions with Young People and invited guest lecturers such as Stella Dadzie, author of Heart of the Race and member of the British Black Panthers, George Walfall. During these sessions, time would be spent studying a historical movement and writing a creative response to it.
This combination of ‘regular producers’ within an institution or organisation and community members/marginalised community groups coming together in order to design, deliver events like this, shows a good example of how co-production can be used in a way that results in mutual learning and opportunity for all. In practice, co-produced events can bring together different forms of lived, living and learnt experience and understanding.
I hope, when coming to the end of this article, you are left in reflection of the ways we can all challenge ourselves to incorporate co-production within cultural archives, not as an afterthought, but as a starting point. There are many benefits to putting this into practice; not just to organisations and cultural archiving spaces but to the people/communities involved as well.
If you’re interested in finding out more about what co-production is, please explore our approach to co-production and core values further.
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