Out of the Box – community project

In 2014/2015 I was the lead artist in a collaboration between filmpro and Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives to pioneer new approaches to encourage community access to its rare collections. Supported by the Arts Council England and the National Archives, the Out of the Box project gave disabled residents the chance to be creatively inspired by the extensive archival collections. It was also an opportunity for me to use a research-based approach to create an artistic response to the archives as well as to facilitate a productive working environment for other artists and working closely with the staff members to best understand how the archive and their visitors work together.

See the film I created in responds to the archive here: https://vimeo.com/134314961  Password: OoTB_CK2014

 

More about the project

A bold new arts project came to East London in 2014, working innovatively with disabled people to take archives ‘out of the box.’ When you think of archives, the traditional image you may conjure up is of hundreds of documents from a forgotten era which are locked away in hidden vaults.

Out of the Box – The exhibition
A showcase for artwork created in response to the heritage collections of Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives.

Project Learning
Out of the Box: Enabling Access to Archives
A conference for professionals working in the UK archive and cultural heritage sectors interested in ways of improving the accessibility of archive collections for disabled people.

 

Creative workshops
Between July and August 2014, participants took the archives ‘out of the box’ exploring stories of East London streets and people, blending their own memories of local history, past and present lives of communities in Tower Hamlets. By the end of each workshop there were new narratives through participants fresh approach and inclusive ways of accessing the archives.