12a Archives for the Culturally Curious: How have Public Record Office Victoria, the state archives of Victoria, engaged audiences interested in diverse voices, design, cultural diversity and place making
Tracks
Collaboration and Advocacy
| Wednesday, October 19, 2022 |
| 9:45 AM - 11:15 AM |
Presentation Type
Traditional Paper -- Moderator: Kathryn Dan
Session Information
Community engagement: For the archival profession to remain relevant - or be visible - in the eyes of the public, the profession has to engage with the community on multiple levels. This engagement can be at the individual or personal level - the approach generally adopted by archives is through emphasis on the provision of access. Alternatively, engagement can be on a larger scale and take a more general approach to this relationship. Speakers in session 12 will discuss finding of new areas not only for archival collecting but for building audiences for existing records and the new areas.
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Kate Follington
Manager Engagement and Communications
Public Record Office Victoria
Archives for the Culturally Curious How have Public Record Office Victoria, the state archives of Victoria, engaged audiences interested in diverse voices, design, cultural diversity and place making.
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Archival research tends to attract people who have the time to delve deeply into a subject area, and they often uncover extraordinary new stories and bring to light voices that need to be heard.
However, to maintain relevance, archives also need to be flexible and reflect the zeitgeist, the trending topics and urgent conversations drawing attention right now.
The market interested in contemporary conversations, and all conversations really, have sometimes been referred to as the culturally curious market.
We need not choose between trying to appeal only to the deeply engaged researcher, or simply to someone who wants their mind stimulated for a moment, but instead foster the tools and culture to engage with both, because they need each other.
This presentation will explore strategies I have employed both online and off, to engage two types of people within this market, those who research contemporary topics, and those who like to talk about them.
So, who are the culturally curious? To summarise casually: they enjoy talks, for the drinks afterwards; they delight in brutalist architecture, or any architecture really; they believe dark history should be curated; they like urban history; are happy to attend programs where the subject matter is about a woman; and, environmental history is as interesting to them as post war European immigration.
First of all, engage staff members who are like them, because they will go beyond the mile to find the right story and the right speakers. Match the team to the theme, as I like to say.
Pay for flexible search technology so no subject is off limits. It was important that we designed a website that enabled us to also architect unique search forms based on any topic. A search form influenced by institutional knowledge will strengthen a subject driven search. The significance of this deliverable cannot be underestimated.
Bend the intention. We partner with street photographers to offer interesting photographic exhibitions at our lobby gallery based around a single theme showcasing archival photographs and current images together, based not on a narrative, but a single theme. 'Kinship' or 'Pandemic', 'In the shadows' or 'Hairstyles of history', these themes touch on many histories and remove a focus on a photo's original intention. This has paved the way for exciting conversations by partnering our collection with images taken of Melbourne today.
Diversity has always been with us, and public programs should reflect that, so invite speakers from all walks of life who are researching archives.
Think smarter not harder. Partner with city wide festivals to build new audiences. You still have the power to curate historic topics, but you have the backing of a bigger team.
Teach the next generation. University market research undertaken in 2018 indicated that researching public archives was not easily understood. We now offer free on site lectures to teach architecture, design, and history students how to research archives.
Overall, and most importantly, foster a culture that encourages engagement, not just research.
However, to maintain relevance, archives also need to be flexible and reflect the zeitgeist, the trending topics and urgent conversations drawing attention right now.
The market interested in contemporary conversations, and all conversations really, have sometimes been referred to as the culturally curious market.
We need not choose between trying to appeal only to the deeply engaged researcher, or simply to someone who wants their mind stimulated for a moment, but instead foster the tools and culture to engage with both, because they need each other.
This presentation will explore strategies I have employed both online and off, to engage two types of people within this market, those who research contemporary topics, and those who like to talk about them.
So, who are the culturally curious? To summarise casually: they enjoy talks, for the drinks afterwards; they delight in brutalist architecture, or any architecture really; they believe dark history should be curated; they like urban history; are happy to attend programs where the subject matter is about a woman; and, environmental history is as interesting to them as post war European immigration.
First of all, engage staff members who are like them, because they will go beyond the mile to find the right story and the right speakers. Match the team to the theme, as I like to say.
Pay for flexible search technology so no subject is off limits. It was important that we designed a website that enabled us to also architect unique search forms based on any topic. A search form influenced by institutional knowledge will strengthen a subject driven search. The significance of this deliverable cannot be underestimated.
Bend the intention. We partner with street photographers to offer interesting photographic exhibitions at our lobby gallery based around a single theme showcasing archival photographs and current images together, based not on a narrative, but a single theme. 'Kinship' or 'Pandemic', 'In the shadows' or 'Hairstyles of history', these themes touch on many histories and remove a focus on a photo's original intention. This has paved the way for exciting conversations by partnering our collection with images taken of Melbourne today.
Diversity has always been with us, and public programs should reflect that, so invite speakers from all walks of life who are researching archives.
Think smarter not harder. Partner with city wide festivals to build new audiences. You still have the power to curate historic topics, but you have the backing of a bigger team.
Teach the next generation. University market research undertaken in 2018 indicated that researching public archives was not easily understood. We now offer free on site lectures to teach architecture, design, and history students how to research archives.
Overall, and most importantly, foster a culture that encourages engagement, not just research.
